Family
by PetuniaViolet
Summary: Mikan is a single mother, Natsume is a divorced father. Kenshin is a boy without a father and Isamu is a child that misses a mother's love. Both children meet in school and their parents soon meet as well. What will happen? Was destiny being gentle with these broken families? Or was destiny playing cruel tricks and making it worse? Read to find out! NO FLAMES. R&R. AU
1. New Student!

**Mikan Yukihira: 26 years old.**  
**Kenshin Yukihira: 7 years old.**  
**Natsume Hyuuga: 29 years old.**  
**Isamu Hyuuga: 7 years old.**  
**Ran Asawara: 7 years old.**  
**Aoi Hyuuga: 22 years old.**  
**Ruka Nogi: 29 years old.**  
**Hotaru Imai: 27 years old.**

**Tsubasa Andou: 31 years old.**  
**Misaki Andou: 31 year old.**  
**Fuyuko Andou: 10 years old.**  
**Jun Andou:: 4 years old.**

**Narumi Anju: 40 years old.**

* * *

She was late and she knew it, how Mikan wished that she wasn't too afraid to actually take the driving license. Because of the traffic the bus was late and that delayed Mikan completely from picking her son from school.

Reo was the one with the car and Reo was the one giving her rides to everywhere, since the break up Mikan had spent too much money in public transport and that wasn't exactly pretty to her side. But he was very clear when he shouted 'I don't want to be on his life, my career is more important now' and choosing her baby over the arrogant and selfish bastard that her high school boyfriend had became was the best decision that she had made in her eighteen years of life and seven years later she couldn't be more happy, even if it was only her and Kenshin…and Aiden, the lazy cat.

Mikan finally walked inside the school grounds and seeing her son alone, sitting on the bench while swinging his legs break her heart. He was the last student to be picked up, she couldn't believe it.

The young boy with a short hair of the same color as his mother raised his head up to the sudden sound breaking the dead silence, his amethyst eyes sparkled happily and he grinned when he saw the best girl in his life, his ma! Kenshin quickly hopped off the bench and glomped his mother into a tight hug.

"Ma! You're late!" he cried.

"Shin-chan I am so sorry, the bus got stuck on the traffic!" Mikan kissed his head.

"Ah Yukihira-san, I'm glad you arrived."

Kenshin broke the hug and went to get his schoolbag back in the bench, Mikan smiled apologetic to that person, Narumi was Kenshin's homeroom teacher and a friend of her family for years, he was the one that had suggest this school for her son and he had promised to look after him.

"I gave Ken-chi a sandwich and a chocolate milk while he was waiting, since it's almost dinner time." He smiled.

Mikan sighed, "I don't know how to thank you."

"You just did." He grinned.

Mikan was about to respond but there was a strong grip on her hand; she looked down to see her son looking at her impatiently,"Let's go ma! If we hurry I can still catch on Avengers x-neration!"

Mikan rolled her hazel eyes, that aggressive show that always made her son hyper, shame.

"Say goodbye to your teacher sweetie. And did you thank him for the food?" she asked.

He looked at Narumi and groaned.,"Bye-bye Naru-sensei! Thanks for the meal!" he said rushing his words. "Now we can go ma?" he whined starting to pull her to the door.

"Kenshin!" she scowled, a slight flush on her cheeks appeared from embarrassment because of her son's behavior.

Narumi chuckled. "It's alright Mikan, see you tomorrow Ken-chi!" Narumi waved.

Mikan smiled shortly and waved back.

* * *

The walk back home had only been resumed on Kenshin talking about what happened in school and Mikan nodding and helping her son to continue to explain about his day.

"So he didn't eat the apple because it had a black spot?" Mikan asked faking her dramatic gasp.

"Yeah I know! He was going to throw it away but I stopped him because there's people very hungry that don't have enough money to buy food, so he cut the black part off and ate the apple!" he explained.

Mikan felt so proud.

"OH! I FORGOT TO TELL YOU!" he suddenly shouted making Mikan startle.

"Y-Yes?"

"Serina-sensei said that there's a new student tomorrow!" he boomed excitedly.

Her eyebrows went up from surprise; she stopped walking because they had arrived their destiny. She let go of her son's hand and searched for the keys in her purse.

"A new kid uh? You're going to be nice to her right?" she opened the door, Kenshin hopped inside and he giggled.

"Don't be silly ma, sensei said that it was a boy! Like me!"

"Oh! Well, don't forget to be nice to him alright? Make a good impression." Mikan smiled.

"Yes ma'm!" he grinned.

After dinner, Kenshin went to make his homework and Mikan was humming while washing the dinner dishes, after done with them she cleaned her hands and went to check on Kenshin, he was sitting on his bed with Aiden sleeping on his lap, eyes glued on the TV.

"Have you done your homework sweetie?" she smiled.

He nodded, paying attention to his series.

"Good, well it's almost time to sleep so get ready okay?"

"Kay' ma!" he rushed.

She frowned, when her son was watching that little show of his he was always more concentrated on it than everything else, she always felt a little jealous but kids always watched their shows.  
Mikan left his room and walked to the living, she flipped onto the couch and sighed happily, another day of work and she could finally relax, watch TV and just get some time for herself, even if it was for a couple of hours.

And so she watched two episodes of Sherlock, but everything was too quiet. The cat clock on the wall marked '11:35', it was already Kenshin's pass bedtime, Mikan walked towards his bedroom quietly and opened the door slowly. Her son was already under the bed's sleeves sleeping soundly, the TV was still on and the lights were on as well. She smiled and called Aiden, who jumped out of the bed and passed through her to the hall, Mikan walked inside and turned off the TV, she walked to her son and tugged him more, she kissed his head and he let out a small whimper making Mikan giggle.  
She walked out and turned off the lights.

"Goodnight Kenshin, I love you." She whispered softly to the sleeping child.

After closing his door Mikan yawned and she felt tired as well, time to call the day ended.  
She went back to the living room and turned off the TV, Aiden was already sleeping on the couch, she petted his head and he purred a little.

"Goodnight for you too Aiden."

And just like that Mikan went to her room, she stripped off her clothes and dressed her pajamas, she turned off the lights and slide into the soft sleeves on her bed. The young adult stared at the ceiling and thought about her day.  
It didn't take much time for her to fall asleep.

* * *

"Have a nice day at school Shin-chan, I love you." He heard his mum mumble in the hug.

He smiled and hugged her back. "I love you too mom!"

The young boy ran inside the school building and he searched for his closer friend, Ran Asawara.

Ran was the smartest girl he ever knew; she was a good reader and had a beautiful hand-writing. She always said smart things and hard words and she always gives good advices, and she's a good story-teller. Kenshin knows for a fact that his mother was the best but Ran was also good.  
And there she was, sitting on her usual bench with a book covering her face, her purple schoolbag was close to her legs, Kenshin grinned slyly when she jumped because the way he had jumped to the bench, almost turning it upside down, she almost dropped the book.

"Kenshin! I told t-that you can't seat like that, the bench might fall one day!" she scowled, he just giggled.

Ran had a short slightly wavy brown hair and two amber eyes, she usually wore her hair into two short pigtails but sometimes she would let it down. Kenshin met her in first grade and he got fascinated by her intelligence, and he saw how the other kids treated her because she was smart, Ran didn't had much friends around her. He liked her because she was also sweet and kind, she was like his mother but without the 'scary' part.

"Morning Ran-chan, are you excited to see the new student?" he chirped.

"I don't know, how about you?" she smiled.

"I am! I hope we can become friends!"

"Yes me too." She responded kinda uninterested, the words of the book were more interesting at the moment.

He just shrugged and boomed her with a lot of questions that Ran patiently and gladly replied to.

It was time for the first class and the 1-A class student's were already settled on their seats, they chatted nonstop and when Narumi walked inside Ran stood up and turned to the class, she nervously looked into her feet.

"Please be quiet, the teacher arrived." She mumbled receiving some glares.

"Thank you Ran-chan, class as you all know, today we have a new student! Let's give him a warm welcome shall we? Come inside now!" Narumi asked to the door, everyone looked at that direction and Kenshin peeked with curiosity.

A boy walked inside the classroom and the whispers started immediately.

"Now, introduce yourself." Narumi asked softly as the boy stopped in front of the blackboard.

The boy had a short raven hair and two sharp crimson eyes, Kenshin could easily see that he was uncomfortable with all the staring, he spoke lowly.

"My name is Isamu Hyuuga."

After he spoke, more loud whispers came along and some hands rose up.

"Yes Nana?" Narumi eyed the young blonde girl.

"How old are you?" she sneered.

Isamu glared at her. "I'm seven but I'm turning eight in December."

After that more whispers went by, Kenshin felt weird and Ran sighed. Isamu just wanted to go away.

"Where do you come from?" a boy with a shaved hair asked.

"From my house?" Isamu asked naturally.

Some kids actually chuckled at the small joke but in fact, Isamu wasn't joking at all.

"Alright kiddos, since you have so many questions I'll give you all a free period to meet Isamu-kun, toddles!" Narumi said rushing out of the classroom.

Isamu twitched his eyes when the teacher actually left; he turned to his new classmates and sighed.

The blonde bastard didn't even tell him where to seat.

* * *

**A/N: I don't own Sherlock or the Avengers!  
I only own my OC's and the plot, and Aiden!  
I came along with this story from a chat that I had with a little boy at the bus, he practically told me the story of his life and I was like 'wow thanks kid'.  
I guess he owns half of the plot?**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned! **


	2. An Enemy and Two Friends!

"Oi, Hyuuga."

Isamu was busy munching on his lunch when a pitchy and annoying voice got his attention, he looked up from his plate and his crimson eyes met dark green ones.

"What?" Isamu asked confusedly.

He noticed that two more boys were being this one, one being large on the waist and the other being too tall, probably too tall for his age.

"You can't sit here. This is where me and my friends sit, beat it or else." he sneered with a smirk.

Isamu raised his eyebrow and sighed in frustration, "You can sit anywhere else, there's a lot of seats." He said trying to be calm and nice.

The boy grew angrier, his friends laughed wth pity.

"This is my seat, get out!" he half-shouted grabbing Isamu's shirt by the collar, they were very close, face to face. The boy glared at him but Isamu only stared.

"I'm not getting out of here." He stated.

The boy's fist raised, every student having lunch stopped to stare.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" everyone behind the bully shouted excitedly.

_Oh, give me a break._ Isamu thought, he couldn't get in trouble right in the first day, his father would scowl him hard.

"Let him go Arata!" a shout came from behind the scene.

Isamu and Arata looked at the owner of that shout with surprise.

But then Arata quickly rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Go away Yukihira or I'll deal with you too."

"I said leave him alone!" Kenshin shouted, showing rage.

Arata smirked and he let go of Isamu's now messed shirt, the raven haired boy looked over Kenshin expressionless, figuring out what was going on.

Of course that Kenshin recognized the brunette from his class, he was the one staring at him and not asking questions.  
"Kenshin stop, Yoshiko-san you too!"

Oh and of course, the girl that was always with him.

"Oh shut up you stupid girl go read a book or something!" Arata growled while pushing her away from the chaos.

Isamu felt like he should do something now, but in the moment that he was going to bring some senses he saw Kenshin hovering Arata down and soon the two started to punch and harm each other.

Oh boy.

Cheering cries because something interesting was happening were occurring and Ran felt obligated to stop the confusion at once, she quickly called the closer janitor and he immediately called the teachers. Narumi was one of them and he was quickly to separate the two angry boys from each other.

"Children calm down!" Narumi shouted while trying to grab both of them.

"Let me go!"

Arata's short blonde hair was all messy and he had his face covered with bruises, his lower lip was slightly slowed but there was no blood in it, he tried to reach over Kenshin but Narumi was quicker, the amethyst eyed boy only had his shirt messy and his cheeks red with a small scratch he glared furiously at his classmate.

"Now, who started?" Narumi scowled.

"HE DID!" Arata yelled pointing at the quiet Isamu, whom just raised his brow.

Narumi looked over the new student with confusion and then at Arata again.

"Then why Kenshin and you were fighting?"

"He was being a big ugly bully!" Kenshin said in an accusing manner.

"Liar!" Arata defended.

"ALRIGHT. Is there anyone here who saw what happened?" Narumi asked to the students who watched the fight.

Silence.

"I did."

Narumi looked at Ran and smiled warmly, "Alright." Then he turned to the boys.

"You two and you Isamu come with me, now! You too Ran-chan."

Narumi dragged Kenshin and Arata who complained and Ran just looked at Isamu, then she walked behind. Isamu was still thinking of what had happened he looked behind to the table where he was sitting and his precious interrupted lunch, he glared.

"All that because of a sitting spot." He mumbled finishing it with a 'tsk'.

Ran looked at him and smiled sadly, "I know it's so idiotic but Arata has always been like this."

"Uh?" he looked over her, "What does idiotic means?" he asked.

She looked at her feet and frowned. "S-Sorry. It means that it's something idiot or stupid." She explained with a sigh.

"How do you know that stuff?" he asked bluntly.

Her frown grew deep. "I read books."

He remembered what Arata said, "That's cool, do you know more things?" he gave her a small smile.

She looked surprised and Ran smiled too, when she was about to respond a door was open.

"Get inside please; the director wants to see you all." Narumi said with a disappointed frown.

The four children got inside and sat on the vacant seats in front of the director's desk.  
He had a jet-black hair and sharp intimidating eyes, but what was scarier was his smile. It was meant to be friendly but it was creepier than anything.

"Well, who started?" he asked calmly.

"HE DID-"

"HE PUSHED RAN-CHAN AND BULLIED ISAMU-"

"HE TTACK ME OUT OF NOWHERE-"

"**_SILENCE._**"

Arata and Kenshin cringed at the hiss, Ran facepalmed mentally for Kenshin's behavior and Isamu sat quietly, expecting the director.

He decided that he didn't like him.

"Ah new student, Hyuuga Isamu correct? Well getting into a fight on your first day of school isn't exactly appropriate right?" the director sneered amused.

Isamu glared at him. "I didn't fight anyone."

Ran raised her hand timidly, the director looked at her, "Yes, I am also surprised to see you here Asawara-san you're one of the bests in this school."

"Sir, Arata was messing with Isamu-san. Kenshin was only defending him." Ran said ignoring what the director said and avoiding the glare coming from Arata.

"Snitch!" he mumbled.

"Oh really? Did something else happen too?"

"YES! Arata also pushed Ran-chan and said mean things!" Kenshin said almost too quickly.

Ran nodded, looking at her lap.

"It's true." Isamu commented.

Arata groaned. "You're all going to pay for this!"

"I'll take that as a confession Yoshiko. How about…detention after school for two weeks?" the director said crossing his arms.

Arata's eyes widen.

"And I'll inform your parents about this." He added. Before Kenshin could celebrate the director added more. "And for you Kenshin, three days of detention after school and I will certainly inform your mother too." The direction said, pausing a little after saying 'mother'.

Kenshin groaned. "Nooo, ma is going to kill me!"

Isamu sighed, his father won't be happy about this.

After that and Arata's threats, the three children were now standing in the lobby in an awkward silence, that was break from Kenshin's angry sigh.

"Are you okay Ran-chan?" he asked a little concerned.

She nodded and gave him a smile. "Are you okay Kenshin?"

He nodded and grinned at her; Isamu looked at those two and wondered what kind of friendship was going on between them.

"How about you Isamu-san? Are you okay?" Ran asked concernedly.

Isamu blinked and stared at her big amber orbs; he shook his head quickly and nodded going back to his stoic expression. She smiled gladly and looked at Kenshin.

"Don't mind Arata, he has always been like that. He's just a big ugly bully that doesn't let people alone, he likes to be mean and stupid! Right Ran-chan?" Kenshin cheered asking for his best friend for some support.

Ran nodded but slowly. "He is mean but Kenshin, we shouldn't say bad things about people like that. Even if he's the worst person in the world…" she finished.

Isamu watched as the two continued their talk, he realized that those two were actually the first people being nice to him since he arrived, heck, they stood up for him. I guess he just made two new friends.

"Hey do you wanna be friends with me?" he asked out of nowhere.

Kenshin and Ran stopped and looked at him with surprise, Kenshin grinned and Ran smiled shyly.

"Of course!"  
"Y-Yes."

Isamu smiled at them. "Thanks for that by the way."

"No biggie! I couldn't watch that monkey hurt an innocent!" Kenshin slatted proudly.

Ran giggled. "You're acting like you're some kind of super-hero."

"That's stupid." Isamu smirked, feeling comfortable enough to tease him.

"HEY! NO IT'S NOT! Super-heroes are awesome!" Kenshin defended.

The bell rang and they started to head to the classroom.

"Hey Ran do you like super-heroes?" Isamu suddenly asked as he sat on the seat that he had chosen which was next to her left.

Nobody wanted to sit near her.

She thought for a while and smiled. "No."

He nodded, soon the class was full and when the teacher was about to begin the lesson he heard her whisper:

"I like villains more."

He looked at her surprised. "Why?"

"They're misjudged, they actually have a tragic past and they suffered more than the hero. They were never loved and it actually makes me happy when the villain realizes that there's good in him in the end." She smiled sweetly, looking at the blackboard.

Isamu was fascinated, how was Ran so mature?

He smiled without anyone noticing and then he glanced over Kenshin, who was trying to not let the pencil on his nose fall. He looked at the lesson and decided to pay attention.

* * *

"Why didn't you fight back?"

He frowned, Isamu had just walked inside his father's car and the first thing that he heard was that.

"Because it's stupid to react to stupid people." he quoted.

Natsume stared at his soon proudly "Good boy. Now, the director sounded like a creep, was he a creep?"

"I don't like him."

Natsume smiled and started to drive away, "Yeah I didn't like his voice either, so how was school?"

"I made two friends. One was the one that stood up from me and another is his best friend." He said while looking outside the window.

"Names?"

"Kenshin Yukihira and Ran uh-"he furred his brows for a moment, "Oh, I forgot about her last name."

"You sound disappointed, it's surprising seeing you hanging out with a girl? Is she cute?" Natsume teased.

"Dad…what are you talking about?" Isamu looked at his father weirdly.

Natsume chuckled, "Never mind, you'll understand when you get older."

"I am older! I'm a big boy!" he grunted.

"Sure thing, what about that Kenshin boy?"

"He seems cool; I mean he stood up from me." Isamu responded with a yawn.

"He also thinks that he's a super-hero."

* * *

**A/N: So I have a few things to say:**

**This story started in the month of November;  
Isamu is 1 year and four months older than Kenshin and 1 year and one month older than Ran.  
Ran is three months older than Kenshin.**

**Class:**

**Akemi Chihiro;  
Arata Yoshiko;  
Ayumi Kotone;  
Chieko Kamiko;  
Daiki Takara;  
Daisuke Shiori;  
Fumiko Izanami;  
Haru Sachiko;  
Hideaki Noriko;  
Isamu Hyuuga;  
Keiko Hitomi;  
Kenshin Yukihira;  
Kazuhiko Moriko;  
Manabu Masami;  
Miho Chiyoko;  
Nana Bunko;  
Ran Asawara;  
Takumi Kiyoko;  
Yumi Ayaka; **

**Don't worry, Natsume and Mikan will meet up soon! :D**

**Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites! I love you all!**

**R&amp;R for more!**

**Stay tuned! **


	3. Are You Married?

**November 22****nd****  
**

A young woman walked inside Pizza Hut with two children next to her, the young boy that reassembled his mother grinned happily and it was like he dragged his mother inside while the girl chuckled.

Mikan wished that she would had never promised Kenshin and Ran that she would bring them to the mall for lunch and the movies but the truth was: she had promised it last month and she didn't saw the fighting incident coming.

It had been two weeks since that encounter with Arata and her son couldn't stop speaking how he and the new student, Isamu, befriended with him and Ran. Kenshin saved in no detail on telling her what they did every day, how they played tag, hide n' seek, how they heard Ran's facts and how Arata didn't do anything like he promised he would do.  
The last part really made Mikan relieved.

Oh well, a promise is a promise.

"Ma can we choose the table?" Kenshin suddenly asked.

"Of course, go ahead I'll follow." She responded smiling.

She watched the two walk quickly and Mikan liked that Kenshin had chosen the table in the middle; the two had the same taste.

"So this one kids?" she asked while placing her purse on the empty chair, both nodded at her.

"This one is fine right Ran-chan?" he grinned to her.

"Yep"

After ordering two familiar ham pizza pies and a spaghetti the three started to chat about everything that their minds came up with, sometimes Mikan would only observe the two talking about their stuff and she sighed in peace, missing her childhood.

"We could have invited Isamu." Ran suddenly said.

"Uh? Why?" Kenshin said while stuffing his mouth with garlic cheesy bread.

"He's our friend."

"But we already planned this for a long time!" Kenshin said.

"Ah…you're right." She frowned.

Mikan giggled, "Ran-chan, Kenshin only wanted you to himself. He wants this _date_ to be with only you and him~" she teased.

Kenshin looked at his more than outraged. "NO WAY!"

"Speak lowly young man." She scowled half-serious.

"Ran-chan may be cool but she still had cooties, right Ran-chan?" he asked turning at his friend.

She gave him a rare glare and 'hmpf'd away.

"Eh? Ran-chan what's wrong?" he asked her confusedly.

Mikan chuckled amusedly; her son could be so dense sometimes.

The pies had arrived and soon the two hungry children attacked it, Kenshin munched on two slices while Ran ate one quietly. Mikan only grabbed on her fork and ate the spaghetti, Ran ate and looked into the distant but her amber eyes widen in surprise when she noticed two more people walked inside the restaurant.

"Kenshin look!" she tugged on her friend's shirt and pointed at the entrance.

Kenshin looked annoyed with the interruption of his eating but the rest of the pizza on his mouth fell as his mouth dropped, "No way!"

Now Mikan was confused and she decided to look as well.

"Isamu?!" Kenshin exclaimed too loudly.

That got the attention of the two raven haired males, one because he heard the name of his son and the other because he recognized that loud voice.

"Kenshin?" and then the girl, "Ran?" Isamu approached their table completely dismissing his father and the woman sitting there looking confused, "What are you two doing here?" he slides his hands into the pockets, "Are you guys on a date or something?" he asked a little nervous.

Both Kenshin and Ran pointed at Mikan and his crimson eyes glanced at her.

To Isamu, there were sparkles and butterflies all over this woman, she was perfect, she was beautiful and the light behind her head made her look like an angel and when she gave him a smile his jaw dropped, he failed to notice his father approach.

"Isamu don't run away like that." He scowled.

The boy kept staring at Mikan; she looked at him a little preoccupied.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

Natsume blinked at looked at the woman that had spoken, his eyes gazed all over her long curly hair to her small curvy waist, but when she looked at him with worried eyes that's when both adults got stuck in a staring contest, Mikan's hazel eyes were fixed on his sharp crimson ones and no one said a word.

Kenshin looked at Ran confused, she just shrugged.

"Are you married?"

Natsume and Mikan blinked and that question broke the gazing, Natsume looked at his son in shock with his rude and sudden question and Mikan flushed a little.

"Isamu what the heck is wrong with you?" he turned to the woman again, "You don't need to answer that."

She smiled. "It's fine, no I'm not married Isamu-kun."

The boy gave a short smile. "Then you're perfect."

"OI! What do you mean, leave my ma alone!" Kenshin suddenly exclaimed.

Isamu cringed. "She's your mother?!" he watched as Kenshin nodded. "Then why are you ugly?"

Ran sighed, here we go.

Natsume rubbed his temples, what the hell was going on. Then it hit him.

"Are those children your friends?"

Isamu sighed.

"Yes dad, these two are my friends."

* * *

**A/N: Short chapter is short.**

**Sorry!**

**R&amp;R! Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites!**

**Stay tuned!**


	4. Introductions!

After introducing themselves, Mikan had friendly suggested that they got together on a bigger table to not separate the children from talking with each other, Natsume just agree and soon there were five people having lunch with the surprise meeting. Isamu had taken the opportunity to fetch one of the slices of Kenshin and Ran's pizza pie, only Kenshin made a fuss about it because Ran was already full after eating two slices.

Natsume and Mikan observed them for a while until the young woman decided to break the ice between them.

"I'm Mikan Yukihira by the way." She smiled.  
He looked at her, "Natsume Hyuuga." He nodded.

"So I've been waiting to meet the famous Isamu that my son has been talking about for so long." She chuckled a little.

"Same, I wanted to meet the kid who stood up for my son and I'm still imagining how he did it." Natsume said carelessly.

"What do you mean?" Mikan asked slightly confused.

Natsume mentally cursed. "Never mind, it was silly."

While the two talked, Kenshin smirked at Isamu and cleaned his throat.

"Ran-chan and I are going to see a movie after lunch." He stated proudly.

"Really?" Isamu replied uninterested.

"Maybe you can come with us!" Ran suggested bubbly.

Isamu blinked. "Really?"

"NOOO! Ran-chan what are you doing?" Kenshin whined.

Isamu looked at Kenshin and sighed slightly showing a pained/angry expression, "You hate me don't ya?"

Kenshin went pale and the glare that Ran gave him didn't help.

"N-No I don't hate you! You won't like the movie!" he excused himself.

"What's the movie?" he asked looking at Ran with hope.

"Mr. Peabody and Sherman!" she giggled, "Mr. Peabody so smart! I love him!"

Isamu thought, he didn't really knew what she was talking about but he did saw a trailer about a white dog that could speak and that had always a kid following him around, Isamu knew that he wouldn't choose that movie but his friends were going and Ran was inviting him, nobody had ever invited him or anything yet, not slumber parties, to play videogames after school, birthday parties or even to lunch together, he had always been distant from everyone.

No, he couldn't let this get away.

"Dad, can I go to the movies with them?" he asked quickly turning at his father.

Natsume interrupted the "conversation" with a very upset Mikan and looked at his son surprised again.

"Really? I thought we were going shopping for new clothes."

Kenshin snickered, Isamu flushed.

"Dad!" he sighed. "Please?" he pleaded.

Natsume stared at those eyes that suddenly had become bambi sized, he rubbed his temples and grabbed his wallet, he took a 50$ and handed it to him, "Here, don't spend it all you hear me?"

Isamu nodded happily, Natsume was glad to see his son smiling.

"Oh good thing that Isamu-kun is going, you two need an older person to look after you." Mikan joked.

"MOM! We're big enough to take care of each other!" Kenshin exclaimed.

"You're the youngest of us Kenshin." Ran smiled.

He glared at her. "I wonder which side are you on today."

She grinned showing her white teeth.

"What time is the session?" Natsume asked.

Mikan looked at her watch. "In ten minutes."

"Actually it's twenty minutes Mikan-san, with the advisements and trailers in-between it takes more ten minutes." Ran cleared with a short smile.

Natsume whistled. "Smart girl uh?" he praised making her flush a little on the cheeks.

"She's the smartest girl in the world!" Kenshin boomed.

"I'm n-not!" she covered her face in embarrassment.

"Maybe not, but the smartest girl that I know. Even my mom is dumb." Isamu said.

"Isamu." Natsume said sternly.

"Sorry dad." He quickly apologized.

Mikan could feel the sudden tension on the table; she chuckled and ordered for the bill to the waiter, "Well, don't forget Ken-kun-"

"'When the movie is over, don't go away. Stay by the counter and wait for mommy'" Kenshin quoted placing a hand on his chest.

"Atta boy." She ruffled his hair.

"Mommy's boy." Isamu grunted looking away, again receiving a glare from Natsume.

Ran wasn't blind in noticing that talking about Isamu's mother was a sensitive space, but the young girl wasn't the only one. Mikan had also noticed, and the brunette realized that during the movie she would have to "hang out" with this man.

Natsume Hyuuga.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry I'm so sleepy QAQ I promise that tomorrow I'll post a bigger chapter! **

**Don't worry I'm not writing any spoilers of the movie!  
I don't own 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman'.**

**Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites it always makes me happy! *hugs everyone***

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned!**


	5. Sensitive subject!

The weak lights of the movie theater were enough to make Kenshin grin.

"Lucky! There's nobody here yet, let go seat in the last line!" Kenshin suggested to his friend. Ran nodded with a smile and Isamu simply shrugged and followed them.

Each child carried medium size popcorn and a large drink, Kenshin and Ran had sweet flavored and Isamu had salt flavor. Kenshin debated that Ran should sit on his side and that Isamu should sit on the tip but the girl ignored that suggestion and she ended sitting on the middle of the boys.

"How much time until it starts?" Kenshin asked.

"Ten minutes." She responded as almost all the lights turned off, the large screen was on and soon trailers started to pop in, soon they started to stuff popcorns on their little mouths.

Meanwhile, outside the movie theatres two adults stood in the escalator in an awkward silence. Mikan decided to break it although she felt really nervous about it.

"Isamu seems to be a nice boy."  
"Yes, thank you. Kenshin seems like a good one too." He replied politely.

Another pause; both walked out and strolled on the long corridors of the mall. Mikan sighed, she didn't wanted to be like this for the next following hour, and this wasn't planned at all.

"I'm sorry, we ruined your day." Natsume suddenly said.  
"Uh?" she looked at him, "Oh n-no don't worry about that. At least I have some company now right?" she chuckled nervously.

He kept looking at her and nodded.

Then Mikan remembered, "If you want, I can help you buying some clothes for Isamu-kun. And maybe I can buy some for Kenshin." She suggested with a cheeky smile.  
He looked at her in a bit of surprise, "You don't really need to help me."  
"It's okay, we kinda ruined you and your son's day a little right?" she looked forward.

He sighed in silence and pondered a little, "Yes, alright. We can also get to know each other, if you want of course."

She smiled shyly "Of course."

**Meanwhile at the theatre:**

It was almost time, about a minute for the movie to start and Ran knew it. She watched amusedly how much Kenshin and Isamu argued with whispers, the funny part was that it all started when it was advised to turn off the phones and stay in silence during the movie, Kenshin told that to Isamu in a cocky way and Isamu replied sharply, now both were shutting up with loud hushes.

"Shut up Isamu!"  
"You shut up mommy's boy!"  
"You're the mommy's boy you big fat baby!"

Isamu got silenced after that one, he looked away sulking and Ran got a little worried about that.

"Are you okay Isamu-san?" she whispered, without Kenshin hearing.  
He nodded dryly and when she was about to insist Kenshin squealed, the movie was finally starting.

Ran smiled too, but she couldn't help to glance at her newest friend once in a while. He was looking at the screen but it looked like he wasn't paying attention. His eyes were really cold and he was scowling, Ran actually felt intimidated when he glared at her, she never looked at him again during the movie.

She was a bit scared.

**Back to our favorite couple:**

**Natsume's POV**

Maybe it was not a bad idea to accept Yukihira's help, she looked like she knew what she was doing and that made me really relieved to have her around.

Who would've thought that Isamu and I would find his friends at the mall? Well it's not that hard to believe, this is the only mall close to the area where we live.

"Natsume-san, what colors does Isamu-kun likes?" she suddenly asked, with a creamy voice. I don't know why but I like the way she says my and Isamu's name. She sounds shy but that might be from anything else.

I wonder if Isamu is having fun.

"He likes dark colors, like brown or black. But he's not picky…we just can't buy him anything with childish patterns he hates that."

She chuckled and nodded.

"Funny, my son loved to wear clothes his drawings on it."

I smiled inside; I recall that her son was wearing a shirt with an Iron Man icon in the middle of it.

Oh wait, where did she go?

"Natsume-san over here!" she called amusedly, was she having fun?

I walked towards her voice and looked around, these clothes that kids dress nowadays are kinda weird. In my time having more than three pair of jeans was great, now people buy more than ten pairs that their kids are not even going to dress.

"Natsume-san?"  
"Oh sorry."

She smiled, "It's alright, what do you think of these?"

She showed me a long-sleeved blue shirt that had buttons on the neck-hole, they seem good. "Yeah that one can go into the basket."

The woman nodded delighted and gently placed it on the long basket on my hands, I couldn't resist on looking down to her waist as she turned around.

I have to admit that she has a good body.

How old was she anyways? I know that she was like thirty below. And she has a young face, how could this woman be a mother from a seven year-old child? Perhaps she got pregnant in her teenager years?

"Natsume-san, what do you need to buy him more? What's essential at this moment?" she asked checking out a pair of snow pants.

"Well," I thought "He needs warm clothes. That boy threw away almost the clothes that his mother bought for him an-"

Mikan looked a little uncomfortable and she bit her lower lip, "Oh. No need to explain then." A reassuring smile.

I sighed. "He didn't took it well." Why was I telling her this?  
"Do you wanna go drink some coffee and talk about it? I can listen if you can." She asked carefully.

No, you're a complete stranger. But why…why do I feel like I can tell you something easily? This woman- no, Yukihira seems to have a trustable aura around her.

Even Isamu liked her.

I gave her a deserving smile, "Maybe one of these days."

She smiled cheekily and nodded. "Alright, let's continue then!"

Ugh.

***Teleports you to the movie theatres again***

This had to be the most uncomfortable time that Ran was into. She was actually paying attention to the movie and enjoying it, she even grew a small crush on Sherman and found him to be very funny but at her left, she felt that Isamu was too quiet and he had a dark aura around his body.

She knew that he sometimes glared at Kenshin, whom was doing nothing than enjoying and absorbing the movie in a positive way, she rolled her amber orbs.

Suddenly the movie stopped and the weak lights turned on, on the screen appeared words that informed that there would be a ten minute break.

"Oh good! I gotta go pee, Ran don't let Isamu eat my popcorns!" he said quickly as he hopped out of his seat, Ran was about to call him but he was already down on the entrance doors.

Crap.

Ran gulped in silence and decided to be brave, she turned at Isamu but he was already glaring at her, his stare clearly said 'don't say a word' but she ignored that, she was too worried to be a coward.

"Isamu-san what's wrong?" she asked calmly.

He looked at his lap and his scowl went deep, "I'm going to kill Kenshin."  
Oh, "Why?" she smiled thinking to be a joke.  
"Because he called me mommy's boy! I hate my mom! I haven't seen her in four years and she only brought sadness to my dad!" he growled quietly, to not bring attention.

Ran's smile quickly faded as it appear, she sighed and brought all the pieces together. His father did scowl him in the pizza restaurant.  
The young girl didn't know what to say at the moment, so she just did the first thing that was on her mind.

She hugged him.

He was a bit stoic at first, but when Isamu knew that the hug felt good he hugged her back, slowly but he did.

"Isamu-san, I don't know how you feel. My parents are happy but I can tell you this. You are a strong boy that is loved, you are not alone and you can't forget that, Kenshin grew up without a daddy and he's the most happy boy that I ever met, he's my only friend he he's really protective of people he cares about."

Isamu thought on her words, Kenshin did protect him and Ran in that day, he listened as she continued.

"Kenshin doesn't know. I'm sure that if you tell him he'll be very sorry about it. But you can't forget one thing Isamu-san, both you and Kenshin are growing up without the other parental figure, you guys have something in common and right now Kenshin is the only person that can most understand your situation so I'm sure that he would've never said that if he knew." Ran said softly, her voice tickled in his ear.

But Isamu smiled and hugged her tightly.

"Wow Ran, you're so smart." He said lowly, she chuckled.  
"Thanks!"

"HEY! What are you two DOING?!"

Both broke the hug quickly and they looked over a very flushed and surprised Kenshin, "Isamu you have cooties now!"

And the movie started again.

**A/N: eue ooooh.**

**We might have something going on here, hmmm?**

**Anyways, thanks for the reviews, follows and support guys!**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned!**


	6. Profiles!

**This is not a chapter but I will upload one in a few hours. I decided to make the profiles of Kenshin, Isamu and Ran. I hope this helps you see how they look like ^^**

**Name: **Kenshin Yukihira.

**Nicknames: **Ken-kun; Shin-kun; Ken; Shin;

**Age: **7 years old.

**DOB: **April 23rd, 2007.

**Zodiac sign: **Taurus.

**Residence: [You may see how does the Yukihira residence looks like in my profile, just copy and paste the links into another tab. If the pictures don't show up PM me!]**

**Occupation: **Elementary student.

**Education: **Second grade.

**Appearance: **Kenshin has long brunette texture layers and his hair bangs are equally like Reo's but they are starting to part a little in the middle like Mikan had when she was younger. He had two big amethyst eyes.

**Height: **44 INS.

**Weight: **49.4 lbs.

**Clothing: **He wears mostly colorful colors, red and blue are is his favorite choices and he likes to have drawings on his shirts, such as small icons. On his pajamas, he likes to have animal patterns on it.

**Likes (incomplete): **

**-**His family (fake or blood-related);

-Aiden;

-Summer;

-Pastries;

-Raw meat;

-Animals;

-His friends;

-Napping;

-Read comic books;

-Marvel movies;

-Watch cartoons;

-Listening to Ran's smart words;

-Good grades;

-The beach/ocean;

-Babies;

-Vacations;

-Singing (occasionally);

-Eating out with his mother;

-Playing in the mud;

-Water-balloon fights;

-Seeing his "enemies" in trouble;

-Teasing;

-Flowers (don't tell anyone);

**Dislikes (incomplete):**

-Arata and his buddies;

-Bullying;

-Threats;

-Traitors;

-Cooties;

-Scary movies;

-Salty popcorns;

-Tea;

-Big dogs (terrified);

-Cold mornings;

-Wet grass (smell);

-Spicy food;

-Vegetables;

-DC comics;

-Pop star singer Reo Mouri (he doesn't know);

-Spiders;

-Being ignored;

**Fear(s): **

-Spiders;

-Darkness;

-Being forgotten;

**-That his father left because of him;**

**Hobbies:**

-Drawing;

-Watching TV;

-Play outside;

**Dream(s):**

-To be a real super-hero;

-Meet his father;

-Always make his mother proud;

**Flaws:**

-He likes to have attention;

-Easily jealous;

-Violent when someone crosses the line;

-Likes to be in charge/the leader;

**Talent(s):**

-Singing;

-Running;

**Family: **

Mother: Mikan Yukihira;

**Secrets:**

-He makes drawings of how he thinks his father looks like and sometimes he imagines what would be like if they really met.

-He wants a father;

-He always wanted a younger brother/sister;

**Allies: **Ran Asawara, Isamu Hyuuga.

**Enemies: **Arata Yoshiko, Nana Bunko.

**Favorite dish: **Ham ramen.

**Favorite pastry: **Chocolate biscuit.

**Favorite beverage: **Banana milkshake/Cold Milk.

**Favorite color: **Red.

**Favorite TV show: **Adventure time.

**Favorite movie: **Marvel movies, the giant.

**Favorite person: **Mikan.

**Favorite animal: **Cat.

**Favorite subject(s): **P.E, Social studies.

**Worst subject(s): **Mathematics, Science and Health, Language Arts.

**Personality (short-version): **Easy to be around, joker, friendly, bubbly, loud, curious, hyper, sensitive, easily jealous, teaser, helpful, caring and protective.

**I.Q: **116.

**Blood type: **AB.

**Medical conditions: **-

**Preferable weather: **Kenshin likes a weather where he can play outside with loosen and comfortable clothes and where he can throw water balloons and have a good long day of fun.

**-NEXT PROFILE-**

**Name: **Isamu Hyuuga.

**Nicknames: **Isamu-kun; Isa-kun, Mumu.

**Age: **8 years old.

**DOB: **December 2nd, 2006.

**Zodiac sign: **Sagittarius.

**Residence: [You may see how does the Hyuuga residence looks like in my profile, just copy and paste the links into another tab. If the pictures don't show up PM me!]**

**Occupation: **Elementary student.

**Education: **Second grade.

**Appearance: **Isamu has a wild raven hair with long bangs parted on the left side of his forehead; he has a pair of sharp crimson eyes that are intimidating for some but soft for others.

**Height: **45 INS.

**Weight: **56.2 lbs.

**Clothing: **Isamu likes to wear dark colors but it's nothing Goth like, his favorite options are brown, black or a deep green. He doesn't like shorts; he wears jeans or pants more.

**Likes (incomplete): **

-Winter;

-Pools;

-Lazy days;

-Manga;

-Napping;

-Shades;

-Parks;

-His family;

-His friends;

-Turtles;

-Dinosaurs;

-Action movies;

-South Park (don't tell Natsume);

-Cats;

-Strawberries;

-Calm places;

-Vacations;

-Winning;

-Mint gum;

**Dislikes (incomplete):**

-Bullying;

-Awkward situations;

-His mother;

-Birds;

-Fish;

-Lettuce;

-Sweet popcorns;

-Coke;

-Tea;

**Fear(s):**

-His mother takes him away;

-His father abandons him;

-Being alone;

-Darkness;

-Clowns;

-Cockroaches;

**Hobbies:**

-Napping;

-Reading manga;

-Watching TV;

-Play videogames;

-Play outside;

-Spend time with family;

**Dream(s):**

-To have a mother;

-Have trustworthy friends;

**Flaw(s):**

-Easily jealous;

-Sulks;

-Likes to create dark aura and become scary;

**Talent(s): **

-Peek under skirts (unknown to anyone);

-Draw in manga style;

-Jumping;

-Running;

-Football;

**Family:**

Father: Natsume Hyuuga.

Mother: (not telling yet :P)

Aunt: Aoi Hyuuga.

Grandmother: Kaoru Hyuuga.

Grandfather: Ioran Hyuuga.

**Secrets:**

-He observes more than taking action;

-He cries alone sometimes;

**Allies: **Kenshin Yukihira, Ran Asawara.

**Enemies: **Arata Yoshiko.

**Favorite dish: **Lasagna.

**Favorite pastry: **Strawberry shortcake.

**Favorite beverage: **Lemon ice tea.

**Favorite color: **Brown.

**Favorite TV show: **South Park.

**Favorite movie: **-

**Favorite person: **Natsume.

**Favorite animal: **Turtle.

**Favorite subject(s): **Language Arts.

**Worst subject(s): **Mathematics.

**Personality (short-version): **Observer, thoughtful, blunt, easily hurt, teaser, protective, caring, cold, rude and sometimes and only in last terms: scary.

**I.Q: **117.

**Blood type: **O-

**Medical conditions: **-

**Preferable weather: **Not so hot but not cold either, he doesn't like too much sun on his eyes.

**XxXxXxXx**

**Name: **Ran Asawara.

**Nicknames: **Ran-chan, dork, bookworm, weirdo.

**Age: **7 years old.

**DOB: **February 21th, 2007.

**Zodiac sign: **Pisces.

**Residence: [You may see how does the Asawara residence looks like in my profile, just copy and paste the links into another tab. If the pictures don't show up PM me!]**

**Occupation: **Elementary student.

**Education: **Second grade.

**Appearance:** Ran has an auburn neck-length hair that shows her natural curls, her fringes are kept from brow to brow in a thin lace slice as opposed to a large region of the forehead; her bangs are left light and sneer.

**Height: **43 INS.

**Weight: **49.3 lbs.

**Clothing: **Ran wears feminine clothes, from dresses to skirts she feels good wearing light and bright clothes and her favorite option is beige and white. She also likes to wear short-shorts.

**Likes (incomplete):**

-Books;

-Mythologies;

-Saying facts randomly;

-Telling what she learns;

-Studying;

-Loki (her ferret);

-Villains;

-Fantasies books;

-Documentaries about the space;

-Sciences;

-Learning how to read and write better;

-Flowers;

-Tea;

-Winter;

-Snow;

-Animals;

-Blueberries;

-Her friends;

-Her family;

-Having Kenshin and Isamu around;

-Libraries;

-The smell of old/new books;

-Starry nights;

**Dislikes (incomplete):**

-Bullying;

-Bing called bad names;

-Large crowds;

-Being glared at;

-Being bullies by the girls from her class;

-Ripped books;

**Fear(s):**

-Being alone;

**Hobbies:**

-Reading;

-Training her writing/reading alone;

-Discovering new things;

-Play with her friends;

**Dream(s):**

-Travel around the world;

-Find out her prince charming;

**Flaw(s):**

-Stutters a lot when nervous;

-Can't defend herself;

-Explodes when she gets too much pressure;

**Talent(s): **

-Reading and writing;

-Intelligence;

**Family:**

Father: Tetsuya Asawara;

Mother: Masako Asawara;

Older brother: Hiroto Asawara;

Younger sister: Saki Asawara;

**Secrets:**

-Ran wishes that she would live in her books;

**Allies: **Kenshin Yukihira, Isamu Hyuuga.

**Enemies: **Arata Yoshiko, Nana Bunko and her friends.

**Favorite dish: **Calzones.

**Favorite pastry: **Apple pie.

**Favorite beverage: **Milk with honey.

**Favorite color: **Beige.

**Favorite TV show: **She watches mostly BBC, Discovery channel, History channel.

**Favorite movie: **-

**Favorite person: **-

**Favorite animal: **Ferret.

**Favorite subject(s): **Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Health, Social Studies, Arts.

**Worst subject(s): **P.E.

**Personality (short-version): **Caring, sweet-charming, shy, astute, wise, mature, motherly figure, friendly.

**I.Q: **120.

**Blood type: **B+

**Medical conditions: **Ran as Asthma. [Common chronic inflammatory disease; Symptoms: Wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and short of breath. Ran caught it by genetics, her father has it too.

**Preferable weather: **Cold and misty weather, she likes it really creepy.


	7. End of the movie!

**I usually don't write author notes in the beginning of the chapter but I'll make an exception for now. **

**First of all I want to apologize to everyone because of my grammar, I know it's not the best and I literally facepalm every time I see a mistake that I didn't notice.**

**Second of all, I want to thank to the following reviewers: **

**Loverofskyrim, AnimeMango, TECKK, lumiere, Alicenee, PureSakura1999, blackat98, allyD, BlossomCutie, sweet little, kirakishou999, dongnghi, me emore de ti, pretty-awesome-girl11d7, animeandmangafangirl!**

**Thank you guys! Gracias! I've noticed some Spanish reviews too and that's awesome! Muchas gracias! **

**You guys are my motivation to keep writing this story and I really love reading each one of your reviews and I promise that in the future I will start to reply to them, I'm sorry for not doing it :( **

**Anyways, here's another chapter only for you my dear reader and I hope you'll enjoy reading just as I loved writing it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gakuen Alice or its characters; they all belong to Tachibana Higuchi. I only own my OCS and the plot! **

**XxXxXxXx**

Natsume was starting to feel nervous; he shouldn't have accepted her help. Mikan Yukihira was making him feel sort of things that he hasn't feel in a while – not good.  
She was merely a stranger that he had met by accident, she was the mother of one of Isamu's friend and she was only a woman like the others, she was just a single hot mother.

_Damn._

He had been with women after the divorce, he had tried to move on but each one of those women weren't good enough and Isamu didn't like any of them and Natsume had to admit; his son was a good character judge.  
And he was right, he had dated four women in the past four years and it's funny because every single of them didn't last more than five months.

_Sex. _

Sex was something that Natsume didn't need that much; he had a stable and good job, an amazing soon, food on the plate and friends that act like family. He doesn't need anything else.

_Liar._

Yes, it was a fact that what Natsume thought was a big fat juicy and incredibly convincing lie – which he believed in.

"Natsume? There's still forty minutes until the movie to end would you like to drink a cup of coffee with me?"

He zoned out and looked at him, oh right, they were already exiting the clothing store with two bags filled with clothes for Isamu and a small bag with two shirts for Kenshin, Mikan carried it of course.  
"Uh sure." They started to walk, "Wait how do you know that?"  
"Know what?" she asked.  
"That the movie session is ending in thirty minutes."  
She chuckled, "Ran explained me, she told me about the schedule and she predicted the exact time for the movie to end." She explained with a somehow proud smile.

He narrowed his brows.

"A seven year-old little girl "predicted" the end of the- is she a special child?" he asked.  
"Do you mean if she's in an advanced class?" Mikan giggled.

_Cute giggle._

"Yes, like that." He said ignoring his thoughts.  
"No, but she should be right? I have never such bright child." Mikan paused, she gave a slight frown, "Kenshin saw the way that the other kids treated her just because of her intelligence, he felt like it wasn't fair, that she needed to be praised and not bullied." Her proud smile came back quickly.  
Natsume nodded, "He's a good kid."  
"He fought three boys in that day." She said with a smirk.  
"Were you happy?" he asked taking that smirk curiously.  
"Of course not, I was very angry." She paused.  
"But proud." He concluded.  
"Hell yeah."

He smiled.

**MOVIE THEATRE**

Oh dear, oh dearly dear.  
This is not good at all, not good at all. Ran was literally between a sandwich of a dark glare coming from a brunette and an indifferent stare from the raven haired boy.

The difference?

One stared at the screen and the other didn't.

Kenshin wanted answers, why was Ran hugging Isamu? Why was he hugging her back?

Why was he caring so much? Not even he knew why he was angry right now. Maybe because Isamu had Ran's cooties now and he was worried for the boy.

"Ran, why did you hug Isamu?" he whispered to his friend's side.  
She was paying attention to the movie but her amber eyes glanced towards him, "Because he was angry at you." She whispered back.  
Kenshin was confused, "Why?"  
She gave an annoyed grunt, the girl clearly wanted to watch the movie now. "Ask him! Now please, I wanna watch the movie!" she whispered.

He stopped talking and ate more popcorns, he glanced at Isamu again. He was smiling at the screen; Kenshin couldn't help but smile too.  
He didn't want to admit but he had tried to make Isamu smile more since the two became acquaintances, he liked Isamu because he praised Ran for her attitude, he wasn't like the others. He was good.  
But what was he angry about? Did Kenshin say something bad? His mum did say that he could be too blunt sometimes. He was going to ask after the session, definitely.

Ran smirked, Kenshin wasn't even noticing her staring at his preoccupied expression, she knew that he was thinking too hard on what he said to make the crimson eyed boy angry. She almost giggled when he wrinkled his eyebrows in frustration.  
Ran reached for her drink and took long sips, too longs that gave her a sharp headache, she whined quietly and held her temples with her eyes closed.  
"You okay?" Isamu whispered suddenly noticing her fetal position.  
She nodded, "Brain freeze." She smiled reassuring.  
He smirked, "Really?"  
She blushed in embarrassment and looked to the screen again, she had Kenshin teasing her about her facts and now she had another person doing the same, just her luck.

But Ran was happy, Kenshin and Isamu may quarrel like a couple but she knew that they would get along well in the future, boys will be boys.  
She frowned, really Ran? "Boys will be boys"? You sound so old and so…mature. Why was she like this? Why couldn't Ran be into dolls and playhouse? No.

She smiled.

Ran was more than that, she was happy to be her. She was happy for her current acknowledge, she was happy knowing the answers already, happy to learn new amazing things and she knew what karma was and she believed in it strongly. Everyone that hurt her would, one day, need help from people like her and she knew that because she was smart enough to know it.  
Yeah, she was happy. And proud.

"YAY!"

The sudden shout startled the young girl, she looked over Kenshin with widen eyes. He was jumping on his seat excited while watching the movie; she looked at the big screen and blinked.

"It's over?" she questioned to herself.  
When the lights turned on she got her answer, oh no! She didn't even pay attention to the end like she should've had, she only stared at it!  
Ran sighed but she gave her friend a fake smile. "That was nice wasn't it?"  
"NICE? That was so cool! Right Isamu?" he asked too excitedly.  
He only grunted in reply and Kenshin remembered that he was still angry.

"Right." Kenshin stated, he grabbed his popcorns and his drink and hopped off the seat. "Let's go then!" he smiled, but Ran noticed that his smile was off.  
"Alright let's go." She said while getting out as well.

**XxXxXxXx**

Outside the theatre stood Natsume and Mikan, both awaited for their children in silence because there was nothing more to say, they had talked about what they could during the coffee and they had ended the conversation by simply not having anymore topics to chat about.  
Mikan smiled when she spotted her son and his friends but her smile froze when she noticed that something was wrong with Kenshin, Ran looked worriedly at him as well and that was definitely not a good sign.

"Hi sweetie how was the movie?" she asked when he was close enough to hear her.  
"It was cool ma! Thanks for letting me see it!" he replied with the same bubbly tone.  
Ran nodded, "Thank you for inviting me Mikan-san." A short shy smile.  
Isamu passed by them and stood in front of his father. "Thanks dad it was great." He mumbled.  
Natsume nodded, "Alright, ready to go home?"  
Just when Isamu was about to talk Kenshin patted his shoulder and made him turn, the boy gave a shy look. "Can I talk to you?"  
Natsume stared at Mikan and she shrugged.  
"Uh…sure." Isamu replied dryly.

Both young males walked away from the adults and Ran, Mikan looked at Ran for answers but she only smiled back.

After Kenshin reassured himself that they were far enough he looked at Isamu apologetic. "Ran-chan said that you're angry at me."  
Isamu nodded, "It's fine, you didn't know."  
"Knew what?" he slightly tilted his head.  
Isamu sighed, "When you called me mommy's boy it made me mad."  
"Uh why? We were just kidding right?"  
"I hate my mom."  
Kenshin literally gasped in horror, "D-Don't say that! Why?!"  
"Because she left me and my dad, my mum only made my dad sad and I haven't seen her for four years. She doesn't like us anymore and I don't like when someone talks about her." He sneered.  
Kenshin paused; he covered his mouth and looked at the floor.  
Isamu rolled his eyes but he stopped when he actually saw Kenshin sobbing, yes that's right.

Kenshin was crying.

_What._

**A/N: Them weird POV'S right?**

**THAT'S ALL FOLKS!**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned! **


	8. The Woman!

**A/N: I decided to dedicate a chapter for the children and another for Natsume and Mikan's relationship evolution.  
And finally, to please you all: Hotaru's short story.**

**Also, I would just like to remind you that Isamu doesn't have to be like Natsume, just because he looks like him. Isamu might have a similar personality but he also owns his own. **

**Isamu's mother will be a secret for a little longer, be patient.**

* * *

Hotaru Imai was bored, everything was dull and she was on her day off. Everyday could be a day off anyways. But the elegant short raven haired woman disliked not being on her working habitat, she enjoyed being there and see that everything was going well, this was her money that we're talking about and if there's anything that Hotaru loves more than her life it's money.

Since her seven years of age – when she received her first allowance- Hotaru felt in love with money, with being rich, being the one in control because she was powerful. Her father had died when she was only two years old, her mother currently is living her life with adventures, she had left Hotaru the responsibility of the Imai CORP because Hotaru's older brother was a prestigious doctor that is needed all around the world.

Indeed that Hotaru had some lonely times and she entertained herself with the own inventions that she created out of nowhere, technology was another passion that grew with her but she was still lonely, robots couldn't replace humans…at least not in the emotion department.

Just in the middle of the 2nd term of middle school, Mikan Yukihira was introduced to Hotaru's class as the new student. At first the girl seemed to be that bubbly annoying girl that everyone seems to be confused about, loved her.

Hotaru hated her.

But they became friends right away.

Mikan was the only one that actually followed Hotaru around, that admired Hotaru for her inventions and that served as a perfect test dummy for special occasions. But after winning their school's annual karaoke contest they became inseparable, even though that Hotaru was still learning how to show her true emotions Mikan knew that she cared and Mikan would always remind Hotaru the same by telling her 'I love you'.

It has been the first time that Hotaru heard from someone else without being from her small family and she couldn't help but smile at the pig-tailed girl.

Years passed and Hotaru had made friends thanks to Mikan, there was Nonoko and Anna and Mikan's brotherly figure, Tsubasa and finally Reo Mouri.

But she never liked Reo, Mikan's last boyfriend.

High school was ending when Mikan first told her about her new boyfriend, Hotaru was worried because the brunette's love life wasn't exactly pretty persay but she just accepted him and of course gave him some threats to make sure he would be a good boyfriend. And so he was, for some years. Reo was successfully rising on his singing career when Mikan had told her best friend that she was pregnant.

Hotaru was in shock when Mikan told that Reo actually chose his career over his pregnant girlfriend. She was quick on plotting the revenge but Hotaru decided to wait, to wait until Reo was famous enough.

After that, Hotaru had a depressed pregnant Mikan on her hands, the hazel eyed woman lived on Hotaru's apartment until Kenshin's birth and after Hotaru was officially the CEO of her family's corporation she wasted no time on getting Mikan a good and perfect apartment for her and the baby to settle in.

Of course that Mikan never accepted Hotaru's help on completely paying for the apartment's bills and Hotaru –being frustrated with her best friend's stubbornness- offered Mikan the golden job of being her own assistant, which was a unrequited job that Hotaru had to bring only for her. Being a little dense, Mikan gladly accepted thinking on her baby's future.

Hotaru smiled as she twirled her office chair to the massive window that showed the tall building ahead, the night was calm and the view was beautiful. Hotaru had always loved her money more than anything in the world.

Until she met Mikan and Kenshin Yukihira, her family.

* * *

"Why is it raining on Monday? It's the worst thing ever."  
"Worst than when you cried like a baby?"  
"Shut up Isamu."

Ah yes, Monday mornings are truly beautiful and kind to everyone that works or has to go to school.

Or Nah.

Isamu and Kenshin were standing inside the school's entrance, they were sitting on a bench and both were observing the strong rain outside, it has been raining since Saturday night and it never stopped.

"Ran-chan is getting late." Kenshin mumbled worriedly.

They were also waiting for the third member of the group.

"She'll come; just don't cry about it okay?" Isamu smirked.

Kenshin glared at him, since Isamu told the reason why he was so affected because of what he had said at the theatre and Kenshin cried, the raven haired boy had been teasing and mocking about it. But Kenshin couldn't help it, he has unintentionally hurt Isamu in a bad way and he was really upset about it, he was also sad about Isamu's relationship with his mother.

Kenshin loves his mother more than everyone else, he couldn't imagine not seeing her for two days, imagine four years!

When Isamu told about what his mother did he was too shocked, he didn't know that mothers could be evil! Only stepmothers could!

His thoughts were interrupted by the school bell, indicating that the homeroom class was about to start, with a sigh he hopped off the bench with Isamu and both boys walks together to the homeroom.

* * *

"Alright children, settle down." Narumi chirped, "As you all know, Christmas is almost there so I want you guys to make something special! It's called: Secret Santa!"

The class seemed excited about it, Nana raised her hand and Narumi smiled at her.

"What's that?"

"A secret Santa is where you choose a name, a random one, and without telling anyone you must buy a gift for your chosen person!"

Nana frowned, "But what if we don't get the name that we wanted?"

Some agree with her, Isamu rolled his eyes.

"That's the fun part sweetie, that's why it's called "Secret" Santa." Narumi chuckled.

Nana shrugged and sent Kenshin a glare. "I hope I don't get you or that weirdo." She sneered making some chuckle.

Kenshin stuck his tongue at her, "I'd rather give a gift to the boogey-man. Which is not that different of course."

"Uuuuuuh!" they all enchanted, Nana glared and Isamu smirked.

"Burn." The raven haired man mumbled, but she was quick to hear it.

"Shut up you creepy vampire, nobody talked with you!" she accused childishly.

"Alright, alright. Settle down now." Narumi warned.

Isamu just kept glaring at the blonde girl.

* * *

**Isamu's POV**

This is the one that controls all the girls and that bullies Ran isn't it? I bet why, Ran is way cuter than her I mean she's not even smart.

"Alright, who can tell me this: How much is 1+20?" Narumi asked, nobody raised their hand and I saw Kenshin avoiding any eyes contact.

"Nana-chan, can you tell me?"

She looked terrified, ah.

"Hundred?"

The class laughed, I did too. Serves her right.

"Isamu-kun?" Narumi smiled.

"Twenty-one." Easy, it's just twenty plus one of course.

"Very good! Now a harder one. If I have ten chocolates and if I give three to my friend, how many chocolates do I have?" he challenged.

I did my mental counting.

"Seven?" I responded.

He smiled brightly. "Very well!"

I glanced over Kenshin and he gave me thumbs up with one of his stupid grins.

I smiled back. I kinda like his grins.

Better than his crying, that really surprised me. But when he hugged me tightly and apologized with gross sobs, that's when I freaked out. His mum was quick to comforting him and she relaxed me as well.

Kenshin's mum was perfect for my dad, she was beautiful, kind and she had a sweet voice. **(A/N: lol Isamu, you're being too innocent) **He decided to choose her, but he would need Kenshin and Ran's help.

I would need Kenshin's help because being her son; Kenshin would know what she likes the most and how she acts at home.  
I would need Ran because she was smart, and she was a girl so she would know what to do about it. And uh, I like her company. And her hugs.

This would be hard, dad was always bringing ugly girls home sometimes, not that many now but sometimes I could heard them. Those annoying giggles coming from outside his bedroom, and that really made me angry, and sad.

Hunting for a new mom was my idea; I will never forgive my mom for what she did.

I would never forgive the Woman.

* * *

**A/N: SO. **

**Short chapter, why:**

**-I'm busy on a school essay;**

**-I'm sick;**

**-I need to rest early if I want to go to the course tomorrow.**

**By the way, it's hard to if pictures of houses decorations to post on my profile QuQ I can't find anything suitable for Kenshin's bedroom. Does someone know a site? I need help!**

**R&amp;R**

**Thanks for everything!**

**Stay tuned!**


	9. High Fever!

**Meanwhile in the Asawara Residence**

The young girl coughed, she took in a deep sigh and tried to catch her breath even though she was only lying on her bed. Her cheeks were flushed in a deep scarlet and her forehead was all sweaty and her bright amber eyes were now dull and tired, she glanced over the female figure standing next to her.

Ran's mother was more than worried, her daughter had a high fever and it wasn't going down like it was supposed to, since she had given her daughter the correct medicine. Masako Asawara almost cried when she saw her middle child in pain, she turned her sad eyes towards her husband; worry on his face was also noticeable.

"Hospital. Now." He turned to grab the car keys.

Masako tried to stay calm, she smiled and uncovered Ran and with a quick movement she carried the girl, not even bothering with undressing the pink pajamas. Masako was quick with her steps towards the entrance, her husband had already grabbed Ran's favorite peacoat and he covered his daughter quickly.

Ran cried, "It's hot."  
"I know sweetie but you have to use it." He said while opening the door, Masako quickly left the house and pressed the button for the elevator, Ran only whined.

"Mummy, it hurts."

"I know sweetie, everything will be alright don't worry." Masako whispered while patting her back to calm her down.

The door from behind was closed and the elevator's door opened with a loud 'ding', both adults hurried inside and soon they were in their way to the local hospital.

* * *

Ran shivered in her mother's embrace, "I'm cold." She cried softly, her eyes were closed and Masako wiped the sweat from her daughter's forehead once again. Ran's mom sighed and she was looking everywhere to keep her mind busy.

"We're almost there darling, just stay awake." Tetsuya, the father, said while paying attention to the road.

"I WANNA GO TO SCHOOL!" Ran suddenly shouted, struggling to get away.

"RAN STAY QUIET!" Masako shouted sternly.

But she didn't, Ran started to cry loudly. She felt like suffocating, the muscles on her legs were aching and she was feeling cold and warm all the time, the shivers were horrible and she felt disgusting with all the sweat. Ran kept crying until they reached to the hospital, Masako left the car leaving Tetsuya to park it and she ran into the Emergency alley, the child's crying got the attention of the passing nurses and Ran was immediately given a paper bracelet with the color of red.

Masako and Ran waited for their call, the woman was a mess and some of the few people looked at her and the child in her arms with pity.

"_Ran Asawara_."

Masako walked quickly.

* * *

They got lucky, Ran was already 100.7 F of fever and soon she could start having minor convulsions. The doctor said that Ran was also dehydrated so she was placed on serum. Ran was also placed on a hospital room she the doctor wouldn't let her leave until he was sure that she was more than better.

Masako could only sit next to her daughter's bed, a bit relieved that her baby would be fine. She saw Tetsuya walking inside with a cup of coffee; he smiled and handed it to her. "Thank you." She mumbled taking a sip.

He nodded, "I have to go back to work…will you two be fine?" he asked taking a glance at his sleeping daughter.

Masako smiled, "Yes."

"I'll leave the car for you, I called a friend from work and he's coming to get me." He smiled back and leaned down to kiss his wife's forehead; she gladly leaned more at him and closed her eyes to receive the warm kiss.

"Thank you darling, have a nice day at work."

"Call me if something happens alright?" he walked to the bed and planted a kiss on Ran's head; the kiss was long and caring.

"You're grounded missy! Never scare us like that ever again." He joked, just to make his wife cheer up a little.

She chuckled.

* * *

Kenshin's eyes twisted, he dropped the ball and looked at the sky seriously.

It was P.E class and the couch ordered the children to pair up and toss the basketball to each other, Kenshin had paired up with Isamu and they were actually having fun but the boy's danger senses tingled suddenly and he couldn't help but thinking on Ran.

"Throw the ball!" Isamu growled.

"Something's wrong with Ran-chan." Kenshin looked at him, Isamu was taken back with the seriousness on the brunette's voice, he usually had a childish one.

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's go call Ran's mummy!" Kenshin tossed the ball away and made sure that the couch was far away, he was busy helping Akemi throwing the ball to the basket, she was failing miserably.

He approached Isamu and dragged him to the bushes, they successfully escaped P.E and Isamu sighed, "We're going to be in trouble won't we?"

Kenshin grinned, "I guess, are you scared?" he challenged.

"No!" Isamu spat, "Wait, how are we going to call her mum?" he stopped walking.

Kenshin rolled his eyes, "I know her number, she gave me in case o emergency." He pulled Isamu along since he wasn't walking.

"Why?" he pressed.

Kenshin smiled, "She trusts me." Kenshin recalled when Masako had called him aside on Ran's birthday party. It was only her family, siblings and himself since she didn't had friends back there. She told him that he was a good boy and gave him a piece of paper, Masaki pleaded that if anything bad happened to Ran, but really bad like an emergency, he would give the number to the closest adult and call her.

Isamu just watched his friend gazing, probably lost on his thoughts.

"Where are you _two_ going?" a voice sneered from behind, the two boys looked and deadpanned with a smirking Arata, "You're skipping and I'm telling!" he crossed his arms.

Oh Isamu really wanted to punch this boy.

"You're going to be a snitch!" Kenshin accused.

"Ran was one too!" Arata spat with an angry tone.

"Just go away before your face gets hurt." Isamu said, suddenly in a deep tone. Even Kenshin shivered, where did that came from?

"You don't scare me, you're a coward!" Arata said, trying to sound tough.

Isamu smirked, he slowly approached the blonde one and pinched his cheeks hard, he leaned to his face a spoke in a scary tone. Arata gulped and he tried to push the raven haired boy away. "Arata, don't you know what I can do to you? I know where you live." Isamu's crimson eyes were dark, "I can suck the blood from you in seconds you little maggot." He sneered with an evil smirk.

Kenshin raised his eyebrow and watched Arata squeal.

"VAMPIRE! I KNEW IT! AAAAH!" Arata pushed Isamu and ran away screaming.

"YOU BETTER NOT TELL ANYONE!" Isamu shouted, hoping that Arata could hear him, then he just sighed and turned to continue walking, but he noticed Kenshin staring at him in shock, he was waiting for something. "What? I know he thinks I'm a stupid vampire." He shrugged.

"What the heck was that?!" Kenshin giggled.

He rolled his eyes, "It's called acting dumb-dumb, now let's go!" Isamu passed by Kenshin and soon the amethyst eyed boy followed him with loud chuckles.

"That was so cool! How did you do that? Teach me!" he kept asking.

"Let it go!" Isamu growled in frustration.

* * *

The boys peeked behind the colored wall; the secretary of the entrance was empty. The phone was wide-open and they only had a few moments until the janitor to come back.

They had created a fake vomit based on ketchup and mustard with the disgusting mystery meat creamy sauce, it was perfect and the janitor of the floor would be busy.

Kenshin quickly grabbed the piece of paper that he always kept in every pocket of the pants that he used and soon he run and climbed to the chair, Isamu looked around and followed him after, he saw Kenshin concentrating on dialing the number.

"Hurry up!" Isamu breathed nervously.

"Shut up!" Kenshin whispered, he pressed the phone's speaker against his tiny ear and he grinned when it ringed.

* * *

Masako was watching her daughter sleeping peacefully, she was glad to see Ran feeling better. Her cheeks weren't so red and the sweat was gone, the young girl looked like she was only sleeping. But her gaze was interrupted with her melody of her phone, she grabbed her purse and held her phone, the number was unknown but it could be important so she accepted the call.

"Yes?"

"_Mrs. Asawara? It's Kenshin!_"

She blinked in surprise, Kenshin was calling her? From where?

"Is everything okay sweetie? Where are you calling from?" she asked a bit worried, her motherly instincts were vibrating.

"_I'm okay no worries!_" she smiled, _"Why didn't Ran-chan came to school?" _he asked nervously.

Oh dear, he had called just to check on her daughter. Masako couldn't be gladder for Ran to have a friend like him.

"She had a high fever darling, she's resting right now. Ran is fine don't worry." She replied, only to listen a shout from the other side of the line.

"_RAN-CHAN WHAT? CAN I TALK WITH HER?!"  
"KENSHIN SPEAK LOWLY SOMEONE CAN HEAR US!"_

Masako chuckled, Kenshin wasn't alone. It was probably that Isamu boy, Ran had been talking about him a lot lately.

"Kenshin, Ran is fine. But she won't go to school tomorrow, she needs to rest. It was only a cold." Masako assured, she heard the boy sigh in relieve.

"_Well, tell Ran-chan to call me when she wakes up Mrs. Asawara I'm worried!" _there was a short pause coming from him,_ "UPS I gotta go now, the janitor looks angry! Bye-bye!" _he said quickly, she knew that he dropped the speaker somewhere and started to dash away.

"_HEY YOU KIDS WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"  
"RUN ISAMU! RUN!"  
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU KENSHIN!"_

Masako giggled with a small cringe.

He forgot to turn off the phone and she could still hear the janitor shout after them.

* * *

**A/N: Ran is sick! So this means that the next chapter will be based only on Natsume and Mikan! **

**Thanks for the support guys! ****Gracias!**

**R&amp;R for more!**

**Stay tuned! **


	10. Have dinner with us?

**Small snowflakes started to gently fall from the grey clouds and there was a young brunette with long curly hair that gazed upon, she was wearing a long sleeveless white dress with a V neck, despise of the snow the woman wasn't cold, she felt warm. She looked around and saw nothing but a white covered ground and tall trees, she smiled.**

**It was beautiful, so peaceful and quiet.**

**The woman decided to walk, she moved slowly and even her steps were quiet. She sighed in content and the brunette suddenly spotted a bright light not so far from her position. She walked towards the pretty light, it was calling her.**

**When she stood in front of it she reached to touch it but her hand was stopped by another, a bigger and manly hand held her small delicate one and he squeezed it with passion.**

**She looked over the tall man that was close enough to be towering her, he smiled down at her in a gently manner and he guided her hand to his lips, the action was enough to make the beautiful woman shiver.**

**His hair was wild but elegantly brushed with an unfamiliar color of a raven tone, his sharp and piercing crimson eyes locked with her big, soft hazel ones and soon she found herself getting close to him without even thinking. **

**He smirked.**

**His hands were placed around her small waist and he pulled her closer, this time his actions were in an act of possessiveness, he raised her chin and the girl felt controlled by his touches. Daring, he leaned down and planted a small kiss on her neck, she trembled.**

**The woman didn't know why she was letting him do this, she felt so weak around this stranger, it was like he had some kind of power of her body, heart and soul. Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed him gazing over her lips.**

"**Mikan…" he spoke.**

**She smiled at him, knowing what he wanted.**

"**Natsume…"**

**He leaned down to her lips.**

* * *

"MIKAN!"

The brunette jumped from her chair and looked around in panic, she looked at a very annoyed raven haired woman. "You were sleeping at work?" Hotaru asked, more calmly now.

Mikan covered her mouth and glanced over her desk, she blushed a bit when she saw a little of drool and she consciously wiped her mouth. "I'm s-sorry Hotaru, I didn't know what happened. I was only resting a little I might've fell asleep accidently." Mikan excused nervously.

Hotaru dismissed that with a wave, "Whatever, are you sick or something? I do not want you containing your idiot germs around employers that really want to work."

Mikan smiled, this was the way for her best friend to care. "No I'm fine don't worry. I guess I just had a tough night that's all."

Hotaru raised her brow, "Why?"

Mikan's cheeks heated up again, she couldn't sleep last night. Since she had meet Natsume Hyuuga he was always on her mind. She couldn't sleep or even work. It was silly and she felt like a teenager again, she looked over Hotaru who was waiting for an answer. "I just…keep thinking on a silly thing that's all."

"What's his name?" Hotaru asked formerly.

Mikan sweatdropped, "W-What are you talking about?" she asked trying to convince that there was no man.

Hotaru sighed, "Do you think I'm stupid? I've know you for fourteen years Mikan, you can no longer lie to me," she paused to make sure that Mikan was listening, "Now tell me who he is."

The brunette sighed, but she also smiled, "Alright, so I met the father of Kenshin's new friend and we got to meet each other while the children were on the theatre and honestly, I think he's interesting and handsome and- OH don't look at me like that Hotaru!" she whined when her friend gave her a glare.

"Mikan be careful with men, they're pigs." Hotaru sneered mercilessly, "What's his name?"

"Natsume Hyuuga." She smiled.

Hotaru froze, oh hell no.

"Stay away from that egocentric bastard."

Mikan was taken back; "You know him?" she was confused, Mikan never saw Hotaru with a man for no more than business

"He's the son of the CEO of the Hyuuga CORP. Disgusting people." Hotaru closed the office's door for more privacy.

"W-What?! That's impossible! He was so sweet and polite; you should've seen how much he cares about his son!" Mikan smiled again when she remember the clothe shopping, "And his son is also adorable!"

"Mikan stop, look I'll give you an advice. Natsume is a playboy, he has no heart since he divorced and his son is a brat, I've met him." Hotaru spoke while looking outside the window.

Mikan scoffed, "What are you talking about?! Isamu seemed to be a good boy to me and Kenshin also likes him and it's not like I'm that interested on Natsume, I would like to get to know him better but…" Mikan stopped; she looked at the floor sadly.  
"But?" Hotaru wanted to hear the rest.  
"He would never like me, who would want a single mother that only thinks on work and her son?" she sighed, "God, it was a stupid dream."

That part was supposed to be for her mind, Hotaru shouldn't have heard that, the amethyst eyed girl sighed and turned to her friend. "You're an idiot; any man would be a real stupid to not fall for you Mikan, you're beautiful and you're a sociable person and you have your own charm." Hotaru said softly, breaking completely her character.

Mikan grinned, she walked to hug her friend but she was quickly pushed – Hotaru has a stoic face again. "Now stop daydreaming and keep working." She ordered leaving Mikan alone with a dramatic sobbing.

* * *

Mikan almost skipped away from the building's entrance, work was finally over and she cringed by the looks of the weather, it was going to rain or snow soon and she forgot her umbrella.

She really needed to get a license.

But she was too scared to drive.

Anyways, instead of the bus she hailed for a cab, she wanted to stop on a sandwich take-out, she knew that Kenshin loved the cheesy explosion with bacon and turkey that they sold there and the egg salad was brilliant.

A cab parked in front of her and she directed the driver where to go, he drove and he was friendly enough to start the random cab conversations to make the client comfortable, she smiled. The elder man was a family man and he kept a photo of his large family close to him.

When he got to the destiny Mikan pay him a little extra because she liked him, she gave her farewell and walked inside the store.

She held her breath, no way. No way that this was happening.

No way that he was right there, standing against the wall looking cool with one hand on the pocket, looking lonely in the short line.

Mikan wasn't sure if she wanted to leave; she shook her head and smiled at her silliness. Why should she leave?

It was only Natsume Hyuuga. In all of the shops he had to be there, timing was perfect.

* * *

Natsume had been bored all day; his sister has been annoying him because of the woman that he met at the mall. It was true that Natsume felt some kind of attraction towards her but he was a man and she was a gorgeous woman, so it was more than normal right?

"Hello again."

He turned his head over the familiar sweet voice. Mikan was standing behind him with a small smile on her face.

Oh. Right then.

"Hello again." He replied surprised. "Are you stalking me?"

Ah yes, the usual small joke that was used sometimes for the flirting purpose, Mikan chuckled.

"No way, I love this store." Mikan responded making Natsume smile this time.

"It's more than impressive finding you were Yukihira-san."  
She nodded, "Yeah kinda, uhm…can you call me Mikan? Calling me Yukihira-san makes me look older." She requested shyly.

This was a perfect shot, "How old are you then?" he questioned, stepping closer to the counter as the line moved.

"I'm twenty-six years old." She replied with shrug, "I know I'm not that young but still…"

He nodded, but in his mind he was impressed. She looked younger than she apparently was, but at least right now it made sense that she was a mother. At least he could be relieved that she wasn't too young, Mikan was only three years younger than him.

Not that he cared of course.

"Kenshin loves eating here." She said to start a conversation.

"My sister annoyed me to come here and buy her the egg salad with the tuna sandwich, I've never been here." He continued.

"Oh you have a sister?" she smiled.

"Yeah, she's currently living with me because of her personal problems in life." He shrugged.

"You're a good brother then." She praised, "I don't have any siblings. I mean not any blood-related but I do have some brother figures."

They talked more in the line and Natsume waited for her after she got her request, both left the store and Mikan said her goodbye, Natsume was about to walk away but then he noticed that she was hailing for a cab. He looked at his wrist watch, school would be over soon.

He approached her again, "I can give you a ride I you want, since we're both going to the same destiny."

"O-Oh really? That would be very nice of you, is it really okay though?" she bit her lower lips nervously.

Good God. "Of course, I don't mind at all."

Soon, she followed him to his Mercedes and she made an afford to not comment on the car, he seemed to be wealthy but Mikan thought it would be rude to point that out, it was the obvious anyways.

* * *

The ride was being quiet, too quiet. Natsume stopped driving in the red sign and Mikan carefully started a chat.

"Do you know a woman named Hotaru Imai?"

That sudden question made his eyes slightly widen, "How do you know that?" he questioned sharply.

She cringed already feeling regretful, "I work for her, we kinda have a long friendship."

He paused and started to drive again as the light turned green, it was true that he had met Imai a year ago when his father was on a meeting with that woman, she had been polite but he knew that she was a manipulative, cold-hearted woman. Natsume was surprised to find out that Mikan was friends with her.

"What did she tell you about me?" he questioned, more calm.

"That you were a (I quote) egocentric bastard." She spoke slowly, waiting for his reply.

He scoffed angrily, "Well, she's worst."

Mikan glared, she would not approve of nobody saying bad things about her best friend. "No she's not."

"Do you believe her?" his voice was deep.

She paused.

"I don't know… I don't know much about you."

He smiled, just a little. "Maybe we should go get that coffee that we talked about…are you free this Saturday?"

Oh my Goodness, Mikan was being asked on a date?

"Y-Yes I am." She responded too nervously, she mentally cursed for sounding too excited.

He chuckled, "Alright then."

The air in the car was now more lifted; there was no longer that awkward and uncomfortable silence.

* * *

The school bell rang and the children happily ran into their parent's arms. Kenshin and Isamu got out of the classroom together and they were busy chatting about how cool it was that they got away from the janitor and that the P.E teacher didn't notice their leaving. They ended up going back and the class continued normally.

Arata didn't even dare to look at Isamu's eyes for the rest of the day and that left the boy proud with himself; he also gained some points from Kenshin's friendship when he really showed who he was loyal to.

"I'm telling you! You should totally be my sidekick just imagine: Wonder Ken and Vampire Kid!" Kenshin made movements in the air like there was a big sign with that written, Isamu rolled his eyes but he stopped walking.

"What's up?" Kenshin smiled, he followed Isamu's stare and saw his mother chuckling in front of a man, and that man was Isamu's father.

Oh, Kenshin was starting to boil out of jealously.

"Let's go!" Isamu said half-excitedly, he ran pass Kenshin and the boy stumbled to follow.

Outside, Mikan had stopped talking when she saw her son walking at her, she also noticed Isamu smiling a little towards his father.

"Hey kid, how was school?" Natsume asked.  
Isamu shrugged, "It was alright." He and Kenshin traded a mischievous look.

"And what about you buddy?" Mikan asked, "I have your sandwich!" she said shaking the bag.

Kenshin squealed, but then he frowned, "Ma, Ran-chan is sick!"

Mikan looked worried, "Oh no, really?"

"Yeah, her mum said that she had a high fever." Isamu continued, making Natsume's brow raise.

Soon the two adults exchanged stares and Mikan smiled, after hearing the boys they were ready to leave to their respective homes, until Isamu pulled his father's sleeves.

"Dad, can Kenshin and Mrs. Yukihira come for dinner?"

Mikan stopped walking and Kenshin tilted his head.

Natsume just looked down at his son with a hidden shock, why was his son so attached to this woman?

No, wait. She wasn't this "woman" anymore, she was Mikan.

And Natsume could read his son's mind like a hawk.

_Dammit._

* * *

**A/N: DUM DUM DUUUUM.**

**Isamu and his plans XD He also ships NatsuMikan! **

**Any idea for me to write? I could do it ;)**

**So Natsume might know that Isamu is trying to make Mikan his new mommy, but you can find that in the next chapter!**

**OH BTW, I ALMOST HAVE 50 REVIEWS AND THAT'S CRAZY THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**PS- Longest chapter I have ever written o_o damn.**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned!**


	11. Dinner at the Hyuuga's (part 1)

**Alright guys, before I start this so wanted chapter I want to clear some things:**

**Hotaru is NOT Isamu's mother.**

**Ruka will appear on this story (of course) but he'll show up more ahead, be patient the story is only starting!**

**Also, be patient about Natsume and Mikan's relationship evolution, I'm trying to keep this real and strangers don't fall in love with each other right away. There's attraction and a small crush but never love at first… **

**I also wanted to apologize for all the damn typos and the terrible grammar! Seriously, ugh. It's because of the typos that I don't even dare to try a Sherlock fanfic; I'm not ready for it I mean damn, have you read the stories over there? The bloody typos are perfect and they're (the writers) so experienced. *shivers***

**Also, I wanted to announce that I have a sequel prepared! **

**Family**** is only the beginning of how the Yukihira's and the Hyuuga's got together as a family. C: (obviously)**

**About Isamu's mother, some of you are guessing that Luna is his mother, but what if she's not? There's a lot of female characters available and she even might be an OC. **

**On other news, I'm thinking on starting a new story! GA of course but in a completely different AU. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gakuen Alice or the characters; they all belong to Tachibana Higuchi. I only own my OCs and the plot. **

**Also: Check out on my profile if you would like to see how the residences look like! (You only have to copy the link and paste it on another tab!)**

**PS- Yes! I am indeed writing a softer Natsume. Let's face it, he's almost thirty-years old so you could guess that the rebel and cold side was left behind in this childhood I mean, the man fell in love, got married and he had a son. He had to grow a softer side over the years to show for his family. He's also a business man; he needs to be polite to gain some mils. (Cha-ching)**

**I know that my Natsume is OOC (and other characters as well) but this is MY story, MY plot and MY rules. ^^ (not ranting, just saying)**

**Unfortunately I must apologize again, beware for the typos and the grammar. OTL**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

"Wow."

The two brunettes looked around in awe, they were currently at the entrance of the Hyuuga home, it was a penthouse from a newly constructed apartment building that had been placed on the centre of the city.

"Your house is the size of my living room." Kenshin suddenly commented, making things more awkward.

Mikan looked at her son in horror and blushed in embarrassment, Natsume raised his brow at her and she quickly chuckled nervously, she gritted her teeth. "Shut up sweetie, you say silly things sometimes. Hahaha." She sent her a deathly glare that was clearly translated to 'Say something like that again and I'll murder you in boiling water.'

Kenshin gulped and turned to his friend, "What's dinner?"

Isamu looked at his father for an answer, just when Natsume was about to reply and loud squeal interrupted him.

"Oh my god! We have guests? What a surprise!"

Aoi waltzed from god knows where and smiled brightly at the two guests, her eyes first wondered on Kenshin and then to Mikan.

Natsume sighed, "Aoi, this is Mikan and Kenshin Yukihira. And this is my sister, Aoi." He introduced not in a so cheerful way, he made his away to the kitchen while taking off his coat and throwing it to the couch nearby.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mikan-chan! May I call you that?" Aoi giggled.

Natsume cringed and he stopped his tracks.

The brunette looked confused but she gave a polite smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you too Aoi but I'm confused, have you seen me somewhere?"

"My brother told me about you!" Aoi turned her face to her brother and gave him 'omg she's pretty!' expression, then she turned back and smiled down at the boy, who was looking at her with flushed cheeks. "And it's a pleasure to meet you too Ken-kun!" she gave him his hand; Kenshin smiled shyly and shook it.

"Nice to meet you too ma'm."

"Oh my, so polite." Aoi grinned.

Mikan looked at her son proudly, but Isamu rolled his eyes and grabbed Kenshin's wrist. "I'm going to take Kenshin to see my room 'kay?" he started to drag the boy away, things needed to be explained.

"I'll call you when dinner's ready and Isamu?" Natsume started.

Isamu looked at him, "Yes dad?"  
"I need to talk with you later." He said sternly.

Isamu gulped, but he nodded quickly before dragging away a very confused Kenshin.

When the children disappeared Aoi clapped her hands, bringing the attention of the other adults. "They're staying for dinner I presume?"

"Apparently." Mikan mumbled to herself, Aoi who was closer, looked at her confusedly.  
Mikan showed panic. "N-No I didn't mean to be rude, I'm so sorry!"

"Isamu was the one inviting them over" Natsume said walking to his bedroom "Aoi order some pizza pies, I'm going to take a shower." He was gone.

Aoi grunted and crossed her arms, "Pizza? Not again. Mikan-chan, are you in the mood for Japanese food? Does Kenshin like sushi?" she smiled.

Mikan smiled back and nodded, "Yes, we eat sushi every Friday night. It's a tradition."

"That is soooo cute! So tell me how old is he? How old are you? Where do you work?" Aoi kept questioning while grabbing the phone.

Mikan paused, "O-Oh uh, he's seven. I'm twenty-six and I work for the Imai CORP." Mikan made herself to the couch and sat down.

Aoi froze. "Imai Corporation? Interesting, what do you do there?" Aoi forced a smile.

"I'm Hotaru Imai's assistant." Mikan wasn't looking at Aoi when she responded; she was staring at the massive plasma stuck on the wall.

Aoi grinned in amusement, "It's really great to meet you." The other line of the phone picked up, "Ah yes, it's Aoi Hyuuga and I would like to order."

Mikan could only watch her new acquaintance order the dinner; she looked over her watch wrist and smiled.

_6:46 PM_

* * *

Kenshin looked around Isamu's bedroom, he gasped at everything.

"You have some many toys! Wow is that the latest Captain America comic? Wow you have a big computer!" Kenshin giggled at everything, Isamu just rolled his eyes.

"Alright forget that, I wanna tell you something." Isamu said while sitting on his bed.

"What?" Kenshin smiled as he grabbed a Buzz Lighter from a wooden box.

"I like your mum; I want her to be my mum too."

Kenshin dropped the toy and turned at him in shock. "WHAT?"

"You heard me dumb-dumb." Isamu blinked. "Let's get our parents together!"

"WHAT DID YOU EAT ISAMU? ARE YOU CRAZY? NO WAY!" Kenshin yelled, Isamu was quick on pinning him to the wall and cover his mouth, he nervously looked at his door and when he saw no sign of someone coming he sighed in relieve, he glared at a very shocked Kenshin and uncovered his mouth. "Shut up you puke-brain, listen to me. You wanna see your mum happy?"

Kenshin nodded quickly, "I only wanna see ma happy!"

"I wanna see my dad happy too, so…?" Isamu waited hopefully that Kenshin could finish the sentence.

"We should…tickle them?" he suggested innocently.

Isamu punched his arm and backed away throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "No! We just have to make them fall in love!"

Kenshin rubbed his arm and frowned, "How?"

Isamu paused, "I don't know! I'm eight!"

Kenshin facepalmed, "You suck Isamu! Do you think I know how to do that?"

"Well, you're friends with Ran. You have to know something about girls…" Isamu started, while taking off his shoes.

Kenshin looked offended, "HEY, I'm not a girl! I don't know anything about girls; I only know that they're scary and that they have cooties!"

"But Ran isn't scary and she doesn't have cooties." Isamu said as a matter of fact.

Kenshin looked at him with pity, "Wait until you see Ran-chan angry…once I accidently spilled my apple juice on one of her book…and…ugh…" the younger boy shivered with the thoughts.

"Alright, so we leave the love part for Ran. Now, tell me everything about your mum."

"Why?"

"Because we need to know what she likes!"

"Why?"

Isamu scowled, "It's going to help my dad."

"WAIT! NO WAY! Your dad is scary; I bet he's the vampire leader!"

Isamu threw a shoe at his face, "Shut up or I'll beat you up! My dad loves me lots and he works very hard!" he sounded really offended and angry, Kenshin frowned.

"S-Sorry…" he mumbled.

Isamu stared at Kenshin and he sighed, "No…sorry too. I'm just sick hearing that my dad is a mean man. He's not…people just talk bad about him because of what he did. But that's past. Kenshin you won't be like the others right? You're my friend right?"

Kenshin looked at him and he felt terrible, Isamu sounded so sad.

"Don't cry again." The crimson eyed boy added, now with a mocking tone.

"Shut up!" Kenshin threw himself at him and the two wrestled in the bed, but the two fell to the floor, with Isamu on top.

He smirked, "You're so weak." He chuckled.

Kenshin stuck his tongue out but he was happy to see Isamu happy, then he turned serious.

"Don't worry Isamu; I'll beat everyone that messes with you or your dad! Just leave it to me kay?" the brunette grinned. "Let's make our parents happy!" he paused, "Maybe Ran-chan will help us! See? Everything will be alright; I'll make you happy again! We're friends now!"

Isamu stopped and stared at the boy below him, he smiled back and both grinned at each other, marking the beginning of a friendship.

And the plan.

* * *

Natsume got out from the shower and he stared at the long mirror of his bathroom and sighed, what kind of situation is this?

Part of him was actually happy that Mikan was here, in his house, having dinner with his family. He turned around to leave to his bedroom but as he was about to open the door, it opened by itself revealing no other than the woman that has been on his mind for some time.

"Oh." That's what all she said. "O-Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry I asked Aoi where was the bathroom and she guided me here and I must have taken the wrong directions I didn't know that you were here I didn't hear anything I'm so sorry I'll stop talking and I'll leave!" she shut the door quickly and he heard running steps going away. Mikan had spoken so fast that he almost chuckled, but it wasn't her fault.

Natsume clenched his fists.

"Aoi…" he mumbled; cursing the name.

* * *

When Aoi spotted a very red brunette marching quickly out of her brother's bedroom to the left hall she grinned, her mischievous plan worked. She almost felt bad for Mikan but she needed that to happen, an embarrassing moment between those two would lift the mood in the future and they would need to talk about it.

She grinned and turned on the plasma, her eyes watched the current show and she started to wonder that Isamu had purposely asked the Yukihira's for dinner because of a reason, she had hoped that her nephew would be smart about this. If he was really trying to get those two together she had to trust on his incredible character judging "powers" and help him. Because Aoi wanted to see her brother and his son happy as well, since that witch left them she carried a little of their happiness away.

"Aoi, what the hell were you thinking?"

She smirked, "What are you talking about, dear brother?"

"Don't play innocent on me, it doesn't work." He spat.

"It worked when we were kids, remember?" she pouted.

He rolled his eyes, "Did you ordered already?" Natsume took a seat next to her.

Natsume was wearing his casual attire, jeans and a V-neck shirt.

"I ordered Japanese, they like sushi. I also asked for your ramen." She grinned at that.

"What?" he frowned.

"You and Mikan like the same ramen."

Natsume looked at her, "So what? I'm not certainly the only one liking it."

"Oh shut up Natsume, you're so clueless!" she giggled.

"No I'm not, don't you think that I know what you and Isamu are trying to do?" he growled in silence.

"Whaaat?" she mused.

"I know you're trying to set me up with her." He stated.

"Soooo?" she continued with a large smile.

"So? Stop it. If anything had to happen it does. I don't need any help in my romantic life." He stood up and walked towards the windows, to look at the view.

Aoi shrugged, "Alright-y then, I'm going to my room. Call me when the food arrives~" she sang while walking away.

"Tch, annoying brat." He mumbled.

"Heard that!" Aoi yelled from afar, making him smile.

True that the Hyuuga siblings were weird to the eyes of others, one was cold and the other was too friendly. But Natsume knew Aoi's true colors, she was a Hyuuga after all and that "warm" aura that she could produce was to please people that she loved and cared about, her other side was never showed, only once. His ex-wife was the first one that got to see Aoi's scary side and he couldn't be more proud to call that woman sister. He dearly loved Aoi, but admitting that would ruin his image of 'the mean older brother'.

"Natsume?"

He turned his head to his left and saw a very shy and nervous Mikan, "I wanted to apologize again, I should've knocked."

"It wasn't your fault; it's easy to get lost around here."

She smiled, now more calmly. "Yes, it is indeed a beautiful house."

"Thank you, I don't mean to make you feel uh, offended." He said recalling what Kenshin first said when they arrived.

Mikan crossed her arms and walked at him, "What do you mean?" her tone seemed dangerous.

He had to choose his words wisely.

"I didn't mean to disrespect you, I apologize if I did." He quickly said.

She sighed, "No it's fine. We're not poor by the way. We just don't have a big house like yours." She smiled; her smile indicated him that everything was alright.

He nodded, "We have different jobs."

"Indeed, Mr. Big Guy." She chuckled.

But she realized her mistake and her cheeks flushed in a deep crimson, "N-Not because I saw you naked, b-because of your job!" things got worse, she noticed that he didn't even thought on that. "N-NO I MEAN! I was talking a-about the…oh my god." She just gave up and covered her face with her hands.

There was a long silence, but then Mikan heard laughter.

She looked at him curiously, yes. He was laughing.

His laugh made him look so handsome, she liked every single tone of it and Mikan realized that he needed to laugh more.

"I definitely can't wait for Saturday." He said after slowly the laughter a little.

She was still shocked, he smirked at her. "Your beautiful hazel eyes are good observers uh?"

Oh.

My.

GOD.

* * *

**A/N: **

**/U/ **

**/U/**

**/U/ lol**

**This is only part 1! **

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned!**


	12. Dinner at the Hyuuga's (part 2)

**Natsume's POV**

I laughed, and it felt good after years of not doing it. I don't know what made me laugh, well I actually do.

Mikan's nervous stuttering words and her embarrassed expression made me. This woman had a gift for digging the hole of shame deeper with no reason. But I had to admit, I didn't even notice her eyes lowering to my pelvis area when we had the sudden encounter in my bathroom.

But it was alright, I noticed myself enjoying laughing. I wanted to do it again when she stared at me with shock, her cheeks were still flushing the color of my eyes, she's nervously waiting for me to talk.

I felt the urge to bully her.

Mikan, now I know why I felt so attracted to her. She was a woman that needed strong arms around her to protect her and assure that everything was alright, Mikan payed too much attention to the opinion of others towards her image, she wanted to keep herself in a good one and every time her true colors came out she opted to get too nervous and say the most irrational things.

This was exactly what made me think that Mikan Yukihira was exceptionally and utterly adorable.

Exceptionally because I know for the fact that in the moment I let her help me choose clothes for Isamu, she had become a great exception. She must be trouble.

I don't care anymore, how could I? I am lonely, even with Aoi and Isamu and even Ruka I am. Aoi was busy starting her modeling career, Isamu was busy growing up and starting his own adventures and Ruka was still in France, on a business trip.

I was lonely in my massive bed, surrounded by things that I wasted my money on.

I didn't have no one to embrace, that place was left empty four years ago. When I had a break-down and brought home a random woman I felt disgusted as she lay on the other side of the bed, it never felt right for me.

"Natsume?"

I looked over the nervous woman, the stranger that well, she's not a stranger anymore right? Sod everything.

"I'm sorry that was rude of me, but you make me laugh." I said was a matter of fact. She seemed hurt, maybe she misunderstand my words, "In a good way of course. Not anybody can make me laugh, especially someone that I only met a few days ago."

She gave me a shy smile, I liked that one.

What am I doing? I'm giving me to herself too soon, what is wrong with me? Focus.

"The food is taking its time right? Do you think that it will rain?" she asked, turning to the window.

I respond to her, she says something else. I honestly didn't care much about her topic of conversations, but I did enjoy listening to her voice.

I wonder how she would react if Mikan knew that she was seducing me by accident?

"By the way, I like seeing you with casual clothes Natsume." She giggled, again with a small blush.

What a minx. An innocent one.

* * *

**No one's POV**

The food was great, it had arrived in big portions because Aoi simply exaggerated on her order, they were five people so she thought it would be better to order more than usual, just to pig out.

They were currently sitting on the glassed dining table, Kenshin was giggling about something that Isamu had grunted, about wanting more ham on his ramen. Mikan smiled and popped a random sushi (that the author was too lazy to describe) on her mouth, she chewed it and mused in approval.

Aoi grinned when she notice that her brother had been staring at the brunette all the time, Mikan was clueless but she wasn't. Nor was Isamu.

"Dad, why are you staring at Ms. Yukihira?" he asked, tilting his head trying to be innocent. Natsume sent him a glare but he kept his façade.

"Sorry?" Mikan asked confusedly, looking at Natsume and Isamu.

"I wasn't staring." Natsume lied, "I was looking behind her, at the window. Pay attention. Eat and shut up." He hissed.

Isamu blinked, he frowned. "Sorry dad…"

"You could be a little nicer Natsume." Mikan scowled, not liking the way that he was treating his son.

Aoi smirked and Kenshin gulped.

"I was only saying that he was wrong, he should be eating and not staring at people." Natsume returned.

"But you stared…" Isamu mumbled with a sushi on his mouth.

"Isamu enough, I will not having you disrespecting me in front of guests." Natsume shouted.

"Natsume calm down you're being irrational. I don't mind if you stared at me or the window behind me, you cannot talk with him like that. If you want to reprehend your son don't raise your voice, be calm about it and show some respect. He's your son, please apologize." Mikan said, in a sternly tone.

"Uuuuuuh." Aoi mused, obviously amused.  
Kenshin tensed, feeling awkward with the situation, Isamu smiled at her.

Natsume was taken back; he stared at her furrowed brows, her offended eyes and her pursing lips. She was angry.

But she was right.

He sighed, "I'm sorry son."

"It's fine _daddy._" Isamu grinned, "Here you can have my pickle." He said handing it into his father's plate.

Natsume twisted his eye, his son was acting.

"Thank you." Natsume smiled, patting his head in not in a so gentle way. Two can play this game.

Mikan, naïve about the mental war between the Hyuuga's, smiled in approval at the scene. She loved when things ended up alright and peaceful.

"So Mr. Hyuuga was really staring at you ma?" Kenshin asked, speaking for the first time.

Natsume groaned and everyone on the table chuckled, only Kenshin was left with a confused expression.

"Idiot." Isamu mumbled.

* * *

"You think that Ran-chan is okay?"

Dinner was over, the adults were in the living having a coffee and conversations whilst the children went back to Isamu's bedroom and continue whatever they were doing.

"Yeah, she's fine. Ran is strong." Isamu shrugged, making Kenshin sigh.

Isamu arched his brow suddenly, "You really care about her."

Kenshin nodded, "She's my best friend. She's like a sister to me; I always wanted to have a sister." Kenshin grinned.

"Only a sister?" Isamu started with a teasing smile.

"What'da mean?" the boy said in a defensive way.

"Kenshin and Ran sitting on a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g-"

Before Isamu could finish that sentence Kenshin threw himself at him with rage and soon both boys started to wrestle, this time more serious. "That that back!" Kenshin growled.

"No! It's true, you like Ran! I know it!

"No you like her! You got her cooties, you let her hug you!"

"That means nothing! Puke-breath!"

"Cootie boy!"

"Dumb-dumb!"

"Ugly monkey!"

"Stinky brain!"

They rolled on the room until their bodies bumped into the closet, they separated and panted a little, but still, Kenshin would tiredly hit Isamu's chest.

"How can we make our parents get together if we fight the entire time dude?" Kenshin sighed.

Isamu's eyes widen - that's it!

"IDIOT! You have a brain! Can't you see? If we get along together well, maybe our parents will too!" Isamu sat up with a rare wide grin on his face, "All we have to do is get along in front of them!"

Kenshin looked at him, his expression said it all.

"Yes I know, it's going to be hard. But you want your mum happy right? Just do it!" Isamu rolled his eyes.

Kenshin also sat up and thought a little, "Alright, I'm in."

"Shake it here." Isamu said giving his hand.

Kenshin grinned and went to shake it, but Isamu dodged it in time.

"Too slow." A smirk.

"This is going to be hell." Kenshin groaned.

Isamu smiled; a true one. He was having fun with his new friend, he was amused and he could finally tease anyone without being his family.

For the first time in forever, he was starting to be happy again.

* * *

**A/N: *pokes chapter* What is this even? I'm so disappointed. Worst chapter I've ever written. I'm so sorry. :( **

**Next chapter it will show what happened while the children were in the room, so you'll read the adult's conversation. ^-^**

**Who's your favorite character?**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned!**


	13. Dinner at the Hyuuga's (part 3) Final

**In the end of the chapter there's going to be an importance notice! **

**In this chappie, you get to read what Natsume, Mikan and Aoi are talking about while the children are in the bedroom. ^.^**

**Sorry for a weird Aoi XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, only my OCS and the plot.**

**THANK YOU FOR THE 80 REVIEWS. OMFG.**

* * *

Mikan took a sip from her beverage, black coffee with cream and three sugars. That's how she liked it.

Natsume preferred black with two sugars. Aoi liked milk on her coffee with one sugar only. But anyways, voices and female chuckles came from the living area in the Hyuuga penthouse. Natsume looked at Mikan as she talked.

"Working for Hotaru can be difficult but she's actually not the heartless witch that everyone thinks. She helped me a lot and she was the one giving me home." Mikan smiled.

"What about your parents?" Aoi asked, after sipping.

"My parents live far away, on a small village in the countryside."

"Oh! You grew up in a village? That's so nice, right Natsume?"Aoi chirped, turning the attention for her older brother.

"Yes, Aoi and I were always around tall buildings. The city was our home." Natsume explained uninterested as he sipped on coffee as well.

Mikan nodded in acknowledge.

There was a comfortable silence.

"Well, I should probably head to bed. I have to wake up early." Aoi sighed contently, "Night Natsume, goodnight Mikan-chan it was very nice to meet you." She stood up smiling at the brunette.

She smiled back, "It was nice to meet you too Aoi, goodnight."

With that, Aoi marched straight towards her bedroom leaving the two adults by themselves.

It was quiet and Mikan noticed that the lights that Natsume used weren't that strong, they were the weak type, she glanced around the area. She noticed that most of the walls were massive windows that allowed her to see the view of the city outside, it was beautiful.

"Mikan."

Her eyes looked at the crimson, "Y-Yes?"

She was stuttering again, Mikan cursed mentally.

"We're having coffee." He said.  
She blinked, "I know."  
"May I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"It's very personal though, you might be surprised."

Mikan somehow felt a mocking tone on his deep voice; she forced a smile, "Yes."

"Are you a widowed?"

She blinked, "Huh?"

"Are you a widowed?" he repeated, placing the beverage on the coffee table.

Mikan held her breath, she must've had the most confused expression in her life, Natsume seemed to panic inside, as he gone too far?

"Why would you think that I'm a widowed?!" she shouted, outraged.

He was a bit startled, but he kept a straight face, "You're not?"

"Of course not! I was never married!"

He stared at her, "I see."

"Why would you even think on that?!"

"Because I thought that dying would be the only way for a man to leave you!" he sighed.

Wait, what?

Mikan felt her cheeks burn, she quickly sipped on the empty cup, she was pretending. The woman couldn't look at him after his words, what was he talking about?

"So…what really happened?" he pushed.

Forgetting the butterflies on her stomach, Mikan sighed with the question. "Do you really want to know?"

He nodded, "Please."

"Alright, but in reward you must tell me your story." She challenged.

"Very well then." He said without wasting any second.

She tilted her head and placed the mug on the table as well.

"Everything started when I was eighteen years old, in the end of high school," she smiled bitterly, Natsume cringed, "I met this gallant, charming, funny and handsome guy. He won my heart quickly and soon we started to date. Everything was going well, we rushed everything and after a year of dating we started to live together. He wanted to be a singer, and he had the talent so Kenshin's father was trying to be recognized and I helped and supported him with all my heart. I gave up almost on everything in my life, but three months after our first year as a couple I found out that I was pregnant. I was happy of course, I was sure that he was the one for me and I couldn't wait to tell him the news." Mikan chuckled, not in a happy way. She made a long pause after continuing, Natsume knew that she was preparing herself to remember everything. "When I was about to do it though he also told me some exciting news, he had won a contract with a company and he was finally recording a CD; I thought that telling him would make him more happier, and he actually was! But he called me in the next day, saying that he needed to talk." She sighed, "Well, to make things short, his manager said that the baby could ruin his career because he was new in the business and the baby could take all his time, so h-he begged me to… t-to abort or give the baby away." Natsume noticed some tears in her beautiful sad eyes, he tensed and a sudden anger boiled within his blood, "I yelled at him, I denied his request. He called me selfish, after what I did for him, he called me selfish!" she spat, "So I let him go, I didn't want to slow him down. And he gladly walked away from everything, saying that he didn't want to do anything with Kenshin and me."

Natsume glared at Mikan, not because of her but because he was angry. "Who is he?"

"Reo Mouri."

Natsume grunted, of course. That arrogant teenager pop sensation that every girl wanted, Natsume had met him once for business and the arrogant, smug and cocky aura could be seen even from the moon. Natsume despised pretending to be nice to him, but money was on the game and Mr. Popstar had it.

"You know him?" she looked at him, cleaning some small tears from her eyes.

"Who doesn't?"

She chuckled, "Yes…he did become successful didn't he?"

Natsume looked at her with pity and he handed Mikan a small tissue from the box on the coffee table, she gladly accepted it and cleaned the rest of the tears.

"I'm sorry. Does Kenshin know about his father?"

"No, and he'll never know."

"Mikan, you do understand that you need to tell him."

"Why would I do that? To break his heart? To make him feel guilty about everything?!" she cried.

"Maybe he'll understand. He's a smart kid."

"He's a child Natsume."

They looked at each other, there was an uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry; it's none of my business." Natsume finally said.

She shook her head, "It's alright." Mikan smiled, reassuring the man that everything was okay. "Now I believe that it's your turn."

"Right. Well… I met Isamu's mother when I was sixteen and-"

"Ma?"

Both heads turned to a very sleepy boy rubbing his eye, the other boy with the raven hair stood next to him, also with a sleepy face.

"I'm sleepy…can we go home now?" he yawned.

Mikan quickly checked the time on her wrist watch.

_11:37 PM_

"Oh my goodness, it's so late and it's pass your bedtime!" she stood up in panic and hovered over the entrance to pick up the respective jackets.

Natsume followed her, "I'll take you home, Isamu go to bed it's pass your bedtime too." He ordered softly, feeling guilty.

The time sure flies fast when people are enjoying themselves.

"Thank you Natsume." Mikan smiled as she dressed the jacket on Kenshin, who was literally sleeping while standing up.

He nodded and opened the door for them, Isamu said his slow and sleepy goodbyes and walked to his bedroom, Natsume made sure he was tucked in while Mikan waited for the elevator with Kenshin holding her hand.

"Where are we?" Kenshin asked in a mumble.

"At Isamu's place." Mikan smiled.

"I wanna go home." He whined.

Oh no, a sleepy tantrum?

"Kenshin we're going, calm down."

And so he did. Natsume came by seconds later and the elevator doors opened, all of them walked inside and during the ride down Natsume and Mikan shared some stares.

* * *

"Thank you for the ride Natsume, and the dinner." Mikan smiled to the car's window.

Natsume's car was parked right outside of the Yukihira's apartment building, she was standing outside in front of side window of the driver and Kenshin was currently sitting in the staircase, sleeping against the wall.

"No problem, I couldn't let you walk alone in the streets with a child at this hour." He said half-serious, she giggled.

"And don't think I'll forget that you own me a story!" she warned joking.

"Oh, I was excepting you to forget that. But you'll have to wait until Saturday." He smirked.

"Satur-OH, right. Coffee." She smiled nervously.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Yes, Mikan actually made the calculations. She would indeed see this man every day of the week when it was time to pick up Kenshin from school, her cheeks flushed a tone of red.

"Of course, Mr. Big Guy."

And then turned away and carried her son inside the building, she didn't dare to look behind and see his face.

To see his amused smugly smirk as he drove back to his house.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner, I am super depressed. My parents gave my puppy back while I was in school. All because the neighbors complained about her barking I mean, what the hell it's a dog, is it supposed to chirp?**

**I will never forgive them, bye Puga I hope someone good adopts you in the future!**

**What did you think of this chapter? **

**Natsume was about to tell Mikan about Isamu's mother, Hahaha XD you guys will have to wait until the First Date chapter! :P**

**Next chapter: Kids time! :D **

**Thanks for the support! Love you all.**

**R&amp;R**

**Stay tuned!**


	14. The talk!

When Natsume arrived home in that night he noticed that his son's bedroom lights were still on, he slowly walked towards the room and face a very awaken little boy playing on his father's iPhone while sitting comfortably on his bed.

"Isamu."

The boy got a little startled with the voice and the devise flew to the side of his body, almost landing on the floor.

"You're back, sorry I was going to sleep but it was too quiet!" the boy quickly apologized.

Natsume nodded, he walked inside and picked up his phone. He paused to look at his son sternly, Isamu noticed what was coming and he looked away quickly.

"I guess we need to talk about Mikan." Natsume sighed while sitting on his son's bed. Isamu groaned.

"No dad! Why?"

"I know what you're doing Isamu, you need to stop." Natsume warned, calmly.

"Why? I want a mum…I wanna be hugged by her, I wanna be kissed, I wanna be embarrassed by a mum! I wanna eat home-cooked meals dad, no more take-outs I'm sick of them! I wanna have a mum's advice; I want her to tuck me in too! I want a mum to scold me when I do something wrong, to teach me stuff, to tell me stories at night! You don't even do that anymore, before you and mum separated you used to tell me stories about pirates! We used to play pretend daddy! You were Captain Blood eyed and I was your loyal son! All you do is picking me up from school and you barely tuck me in…aunt Aoi does that more! Why?!" Isamu was already crying half away when he gave his small, stuttering and fast speech. Natsume was quickly to embrace the boy in his arms and sigh deeply.

Natsume was a terrible father, he never felt so guilty and bad in his entire life. His son was everything for him, it has been the only good thing that his stupid ex-wife had give and Natsume had broke him, his son was crying so hard. The man never saw his son crying after the divorce, heck, Isamu almost didn't show any kind of emotion.

Until he met Kenshin and Ran.

Since they moved back into the city, Isamu seemed to be slightly happier and he actually wanted to go to school, in the other city he would barely speak with anyone, show any emotion and Natsume receive calls about Isamu skipping too many classes. I mean where does a seven year-old goes to skip classes in a big city? That also frighten Natsume to the least, just imagining his son alone in the streets made him panic.

"Kenshin is lucky…" Isamu was calm down, at least the sobs stopped, "He has the perfect mummy, Ms. Mikan is so nice…and she's beautiful…and-and I bed she cooks good." A sniff, "Dad…you like Ms. Mikan don't ya? Aunt Aoi does…she told me in secret, she-she told me that you likes her lots." Isamu looked up to his father with hopeful eyes; it was a rare time where Isamu showed that he was indeed a child.

A broken child.

Natsume held his son up and pulled she bed's sheets down, he laid his son gently on the mattress and covered his body, Natsume kneeled down to his son's height and smiled, "Yes, she's an interesting woman. And you know what?"

"What?" Isamu rubbed his eyes.

"I'm going on a date with her, this Saturday."

Isamu gave him a sleepy cheekily smile, "Really? Can I come?"

Natsume chuckled, "No, but I'll tell you what happened okay?"

Another pause, the father and son were only gazing at each other and Natsume could see Isamu slowly giving up to sleep.

"Dad…can Kenshin and Ran sleepover this weekend?" Isamu asked tiredly.

Natsume mused, his son was really changing. "Of course, wait. You're having a girl over?" he smirked, in a teasing away.

Isamu was too tired to argue, his eyes were already closed and a very drunken sleepy boy replied with a, "I like her hugs…"

And with that, Natsume was sure that his child was sleeping. But he couldn't help to be surprised, Ran hugged him? When?

He smirked and stood up, without forgetting his phone, he walked towards the door and turned off the light button, and before leaving he took another glance at Isamu and closed the door half open, like he always did.

* * *

The birds were chirping and the sun was here, well he wasn't because grey clouds covered any trace of sunlight, the weather was cold, foggy and to add things to the worst weather ever: It was raining ice. Poor birds eh?

I mean, wow.

But this was happening in a town not so far away from our character's city, a town with a nice community of people.

Tsubasa Andou grunted as he looked to the weather outside from the kitchen's window, his wife, Misaki was humming happily as she fed their four year-old son some cut apples, Jun gladly grabbed one and shoved them inside his mouth.

Ah yes, the Andou's. A nice family with a married couple and two children.

Fuyuko Andou was only sitting on the breakfast table, she also came from her bedroom humming a happy song, Tsubasa raised his brow.

The eldest child, Fuyuko Andou, was a typical fifth grader with good grades, she had a good amount of friends, two best friends and she was the class's clown. Some teachers didn't find her funny at all but others loved her jokes dearly, because Fuyuko only joked around in tensing times as such days before final exams. Like every girl, Fuyuko also had a crush on a boy from her class. She had her mother's pink hair, it was long and straight, Fuyuko always wore it on a ponytail.

The young child, Jun was an outspoken, hyper and sometimes rebel little boy. His hobbies include: Terrorizing the staff in his kindergarten, prank his classmates and get away with everything by showing his big bright blue eyes. He has his father blue hair and the hairstyle wasn't exactly that far from being like Tsubasa's as well. Despise his pranking habits, Jun was popular between the boys but hated by the girls, who were the most target population for his pranks.

The family sat and ate soundly.

"You know who I suddenly miss?" Misaki said to her husband.

"Who?" he asked, chewing on his fried egg.

"Mikan Yukihira."

Tsubasa gulped and frowned, ah yes, the girl that he and Misaki befriended eight years ago. It hurt him talking about her, he didn't know anything about Mikan, he only knows that she never left that city.

"Who's Mikan mom?" Fuyuko asked.

"She used to be our protégé back when your father and I went to the university together, we were very fond of her but we lost contact when we moved here." Misaki explained, "She was like our little sister, between others of course." She chuckled.

Tsubasa smiled, "We used to befriend young kids and protect them, like older siblings."

"That's cool!" Fuyuko grinned; Jun burped and received a glare from his sister.

"Yeah…I wish we could at least contact her but she changed her number without warning us." Tsubasa continued.

Misaki glanced at her husband and smiled sadly, "Well, we have to think positive. I think that if destiny allows, we'll meet her in the future. Who knows, right Jun?" she chirped, asking for her son for some support.

"YES! YES!" He shouted happily.

"You're too noisy, brat." Fuyuko pinched his cheek, it had some apple parts.

The rest of the morning went by quickly, Fuyuko and Jun went to school, Misaki went to work and soon Tsubasa was driving to his as well. He couldn't help to be distracted with Mikan, was she really alright? Did she miss him? Apparently not, because she didn't give any sign of her life. Sometimes he thought on visiting the city and try finding her but he first had to know where she was living, and that was difficult.

He shook his head, no. Right now he had to focus on his job; because a special agent needs to be concentrated.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the city, Kenshin awaited inside the patio for his friends to arrive. And while that, he saw a girl with a smug smirk on her face approaching him.

"'Morning loser, waiting for your loser friends?" she mocked.

He rolled his eyes, "Wow Nana, did you thought on that by yourself?"

"Whatever, I have something to tell you." She grinned, now excited.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Akemi Chihiro has a crush on you."

What?!

"Uh…no way!" Kenshin gasped, his cheeks flushed a deep red.

Akemi was a girl with long chocolate wavy hair, she had right green eyes and she came from a very strict family when it came to politeness. She was studious, smart and very lady-like and Kenshin was super confused, because Akemi never talked to him.

"Yes way! She told me."

"You're lying! Akemi doesn't talk with girls like you!" he spat.

"What do you mean with girls like me?!" she exclaimed.

"Girls that don't have any moral, that say the silliest things and that don't know how to treat people." A gentle voice said from behind.

They looked and Kenshin smiled brightly, "Ran-chan you're back!" he run to hug her and Ran let him.

"Shut up nerd, or I'll pull your hair again!" Nana threatens poorly.

"I'd like to see you try." Isamu said, walking inside the scene just in time.

"Good morning Isamu-san." Ran smiled shyly.

"Yo Isamu!" Kenshin chuckled, still hugging Ran, "Ran-chan's back!"

"Yes, I can see that idiot." Isamu rolled his eyes and looked at the amber eyed girl, "Good morning Ran, you're feeling better?"

She nodded, "Much better, thanks!"

The three walked away, chatting and completely ignoring an angry Nana, she stomped away and her arm was suddenly grabbed.

"OW!" she turned around and faced Arata.

"Oh it's you, what do you want?" she crossed her arms.

"Revenge, wanna help?" he smiled.

She smiled back, "Of course! That trio of losers need to learn!" she giggled, Arata grabbed her hand, making Nana blush a little, and he walked away for a more private place, where soon they would arrange a small plan to humiliate the trio.

Or even worst.

* * *

**A/N: Drama~ DRAMA!**

**Who doesn't like a little of drama? XD **

**Anyways, thanks for sharing your stories about your pets and I'm so sorry about them, nobody deserves it. **

**So Nana and Arata are definitely the bullies, but that doesn't mean that they have feelings. (CoughArataxNanacough)**

**Heh, love in their ages is too soon but what's this? Does this Akemi girl really have a crush on our Kenshin? (Who wouldn't)**

**Introducing the Andou's! They'll be very important in the future! **

**Welcome back RAN!**

**Thanks for the support!**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned! (I always use this, why? XD)**


	15. Cooties!

**So 'Recipe of Love' is on the lead and that's making me happy. I can't wait to write every of them but I feel slightly more excited for the story number 1^^ Thanks for voting!**

**Now like I promised, here's a chapter.**

* * *

Isamu was gazing to the nothing during class, while his classmates payed attention to the class (well not really), he couldn't stop thinking on the conversation that he had with his father last night. He was confused, why did he cry so much? Was he really that sad? Isamu was feeling…lonely? He shook his head and looked at his right, where Kenshin sat, snoozing soundly.

Isamu smiled a little, and then he looked at his left where he found a very studious and focused Ran watching the teacher's explanation. He stared at her for a little while and decided to look at his own book, he thought again. No. He wasn't lonely.

Not anymore.

He had those two and a possible mother on her way, when Natsume announced his date with Mikan, he got a little too excited. Because he didn't comprehend the word 'date' that well yet, so for the eight-year-old it meant 'dad has a girlfriend' and Isamu didn't knew much about what a girlfriend was, but he did know that after comes 'wife' and for him that means 'mum'.

He nodded to himself, good deduction.

What he didn't know was that Ran had notice his stare and she had glanced at him curiously, she noticed that he was thinking too hard about something. She knew that because every time Kenshin did it something was wrong, or he was in need of help from her advices.

So Ran decided to talk with her new friend in the recess.

Her thought were stopped when a sudden ball of paper hit her temple, she gasped in surprised but the teacher didn't turn from the blackboard. Ran looked in the way that the object flew towards her and saw a very smirking Nana, waving at her in a malicious way and her little followers were giggling.

She sighed and ignored them, but then another ball of paper flew towards Ran's head, but this time it was harder. And it came from Arata.

She bit her lips and glanced towards her male friends for help, but between Kenshin snoozing and Isamu thinking deeply neither of them seemed to notice that current bullying that was happening with their friend. Oh bloody hell.

More papers hit Ran's head, making her hair get messy. Even Takumi, friends from Arata's, that sat behind Ran started to kick her chair and poke her with his pencil, hardly.

Ran wanted to cry, why was everyone attacking her so suddenly? Why was she hated that much? Ran was never mean to anyone, she never hurt someone, she was only quiet, brainy little Ran. A nobody that unfortunately was noticed in the worst part.

"Miss. Serena, the class won't stop bullying Asawara-san."

Ran froze, Kenshin opened an eye with interest and Isamu was brought back to reality.

The brunette boy rubbed his eyes and looked towards Ran in confusion, he gasped in horror after realizing how many paper balls was at her feet, he quickly glared at Nana who was controlling her snickering. Isamu did the same, it wasn't hard to see what was going on by looking at Ran, but instead of glaring at the pigtailed blonde girl he narrowed his eyes in a dark stare towards Arata, who looked away to avoid it.

Serena turned to the gentle female voice that had spoken, Akemi Chihiro had her hand raised and her face looked serious.

"Are you sure Chihiro-san?" she asked rather serious.

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes." She declared, fiercely.

Ran blinked and stared at the girl that sat in the other side of the classroom, why was Akemi Chihiro suddenly defending her? They only spoke once, in the library when they got paired up together on a constructive work. But it has been a simple chat, nothing that could prove that they had become friends that day, and the sign was clear when Akemi never spoke to Ran ever again since that day. What was happening?

"Who was bullying you Asawara-san?" Serena asked softly, also noticing the paper balls.

Ran stared at the teacher's friendly eyes, but she was scared, Ran could practically feel her back burning with the glared coming from her bullies.

_Snitch._

She started to tremble, "N-Nobody."

Kenshin clenched his fists, he felt anger and disappointment. Anger because of Arata and Nana and because of his stupid followers, he would get them soon and disappointment because Ran couldn't even stick up for herself, he knew that she was strong, why didn't she prove it to the stupid people that hurt her? She's so special, why can't anyone understand how awesome Ran Asawara is?!

Isamu could only pity Ran, he suddenly felt the urge of hugging the trembling girl, maybe it was because she did the same and that made him feel better. Yes, Ran definitely needed a tight hug at the moment.

"I know who was Miss, I can proudly say it. It was Nana Bunko, Arata Yoshiko, Chieko Kamiko, Daisuke Shiori, Daiki Takara, Keiko Hitomi, Takumi Kiyoko, Manamu Masami, Ayumi Kotone, Fumiko Izanami and Miho Chiyoko. But it was Bunko-san that started everything." Akemi said as in a matter-of-fact.

Every child announced cringed and gasped in horror, they all started to shout in denying at the same time and accusing of Akemi of lying, Isamu raised his brow and smirked, Kenshin stared at Akemi in awe and admiration, the was helping Ran-chan!

"SILENCE." Serena yelled sharply, to everyone's surprise. She was usually calm. "I will not tolerate bullying in my class. Now Asawara-san please tell me, is Akemi telling the truth? Do not be afraid to say it." She spoke more softly.

Ran looked at Akemi, the green eyed-girl nodded at her, encouraging the young girl to admit, she smiled at her and turned to the teacher. "Y-Yes, it's all true." Ran said.

Grunts and growls were heard, words like 'snitch' and 'spoiled princess' were heard throughout the brats.

Kenshin could only grin at his best friend and Isamu smiled, Ran looked at her friends and gave them a half-smile, then she mouthed to Kenshin _'that was weird' _he nodded ad mouthed back _'but nice, right?'_, Ran nodded.

"Alright, the students that Akemi said will stay here during recess. I will have a talk with them and later I will let the director decide the punishment."

And with that, the bell that announced recess ringed. But most of the class was left behind, whining and crying.

* * *

"I can't believe Akemi stood up for you - that was so cool!" Kenshin chirped.

The trio was currently sitting inside on the warm bar, each eating their respecting breakfast.

"Yes, remind me to thank her later." Ran said shyly, while she nibbled on her pear.

Isamu nodded, he was too busy chewing on his nutella sandwich. He wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation that the other two were having, he was still thinking on what happened with Ran and to add more deep thoughts into his young mind, the conversation with his father.

He suddenly grew a headache and he let out a groan.

"Are you okay Isamu-san?" Ran asked quickly, rather worried.

Kenshin looked at him also with concern, but the sipping on the chocolate milk ruined the expression on his face.

"I'm fine, just…tired." He sighed.

"Oh! We went to sleep late yesterday. I ate in Isamu's house!" Kenshin said happily to his lady-friend.

She raised her eye-brow up, something that she rarely did. "Did you now?" she asked with a hint of jealously.

"Yep!" Kenshin responding exaggerating on the p word.

Ran turned at Isamu for answers and he smiled at her, surprising the young girl a little. "Kenshin's mum is going to be mine too. And I need your help." He explained.

"Uh?" she quickly exclaimed.

Isamu sighed and nodded at the other boy, together they started to explain Ran about their plans and why they needed her help. Isamu explained that he wanted a mum, Ran was being overwhelmed, what were they thinking?!

"Love is not forced, love happens!" she shouted.

They looked at her confusedly, "Wait, you know what love is?" Kenshin asked.

"I've read books…" her cheeks flushed red. "I know that love happens when two people meet and feel attraction. They start socializing and if they find something in common they start to fall for each other even more." She explained, remembering every word of that book.

"Oh my god, you're so cool." Kenshin gasped.

"You're so smart, tell us more! We need your help!" Isamu looked at her intensely.

She looked down, "I don't know…"

Isamu grabbed her hand (making Kenshin jolt) and sighed, "Ran please, you don't know how is like to not have a mum…you said that your parents are happy…my dad is not happy and I know it. I need your help, I trust you Ran. Please help me, _please._" He begged.

Ran looked at him sadly, it was true she couldn't imagine how her life could be without her mother, she sighed.

"Alright, I'll help you."

Kenshin cheered and Isamu nodded, showing respect towards the girl.

He could know for sure that she was also trustworthy. Oh he remembered something.

"Do you guys wanna go sleepover this Saturday?" Isamu asked to the two.

"Heck yeah!" Kenshin said grinning.

"W-What?" Ran asked in horror, "You're asking me to a boy's sleepover?" she was in panic, Isamu rolled his eyes.

"Only this idiot and I are going to be there Ran. I would be happy if you came…" he said, ignoring the offended Kenshin nagging from the name.

She smiled, "Alright, I'll ask my parents." She looked down and looked away, shyly smiling with her cheeks red again, "Isamu-san?"

"Hm?" Isamu mused.

"You can let go of my hand now." She giggled.

"Ew, you seriously got the cooties dude." Kenshin shook his head in disgust.

* * *

**A/N: Bullying is horrible, don't do it. And if you're a victim, for god's sake tell a trustable adult. Don't suffer alone, please.**

**This was kinda of a soft chapter wasn't it?**

**Oh well, I have no commentaries XD **

**Thanks for the love and:**

**100+ REVIEWS, I MEAN WOW I NEVER GOT SO MANY REVIEWS WHAT IS GOING ON. QAQ THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOUUUUUU!**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned!**


	16. Never Lose Hope!

**November 25****th****, Tuesday**

**1:35 PM**

Mikan knocked on Hotaru's office.

"Come in."

And she did, she waltz inside and looked at her best friend with a smile, "You wanted to see me Hotaru?"

"Yes, sit down please."

Mikan sat down in one of the black velvet chairs that stood in front of Imai's desk; she didn't wanted to be nervous because if Hotaru was about to firing her it would be very strange.

"You've been doing a good job idiot. So I decided to grant you early Christmas vacation." Hotaru reached for an envelope that was on the side of the desk and handed it to Mikan, who was shocked.

"R-Really? Wait, you don't have to-"Mikan stopped talking when she read the amount of money that was written on the check. "Hotaru…" Mikan teared up, "This is too much."

"It's a bonus, you deserve it." Hotaru smiled, "Kenshin will want good gifts this year. Consider that as my Christmas gift to you."

"Hotaru…I don't even know what to say." Mikan cried happily.

"Just don't hug me and leave without being noticed, I don't want the other co-workers to think you're special. Because you're not."

Mikan chuckled softly and nodded, she stood up and before she left the brunette took a turn to her friend, "Come have dinner with us sometimes Hotaru, Kenshin misses you."

Hotaru nodded, "I might…but I'm too busy. Buy him something for me." She added with a smile.

And so, Mikan left; back to her apartment.

* * *

Aiden meowed right away when he saw his owner walking inside the apartment, Mikan smiled and carried the chubby cat in her arms, she was happy.

"Goodness Aiden, I'm buying you light food from now on." She joked while flopping on the couch. Aiden lay on her lap and she looked around, enjoying the silence. Mikan kicked her heels that she only used for work and unzip the side of her tight black skirt that reached her knees, she gently pushed Aiden to the other side of the couch and stood up, letting the skirt fall while she walked to the bathroom. Mikan walked inside the began to strip down her clothes, then she turned the water of the shower on heat and started to grab the clothes while she waited for the water to get warm, she placed the clothing on the dirty clothes basket and closed the bathroom door, she never liked taking showers alone but she was really needing one.

The air-conditioner on the Corporation building was too warm on her floor and even if it was freezing outside, Mikan was suffocating and sweating while she worked, the cool air outside was actually a relieve for her.

A shower was needed.

She walked inside the bathtub and started her quick and refreshing shower. Kenshin's school would be over in an hour or less at the moment, she couldn't help but to feel nervous.

Mikan rubbed her strawberry shampoo on her wet hair; she was thinking on how the heck she would face Natsume after what she said last night. "Mr. Big Guy." She huffed, not believing in her words. Mikan let the water wash out the shampoo, she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, relaxing has the warm water fell through her body. After standing like that for a few long seconds she shrugged her hair a little more to make sure that the shampoo was all gone, and then she reached to the hair-conditioner with the same strawberry scent, and applied it on her long, curly wet hair. She frowned when Natsume was in her mind again.

_Relax Mikan; you can't just fall for a man so quickly._ She thought as she grabbed the body sponge.

The shower continued and Mikan turned off the water, she reached for the towel that was hanging close by and wrapped around her body, she stepped outside and wiped the fogged mirror with the steam of the water, after securing the towel tightly Mikan walked out of the bathroom, but when she was about to walk inside her bedroom to get dressed the bell rang. And she froze.

Mikan stared at her door and showed a worried expression, who could that be? Hotaru was still at work and she wasn't expecting anybody else today. Slowly to not make any noise, she walked to her door and peeked through the small glassy hole, her heart stopped.

It was Natsume Hyuuga, holy crap.

"N-Natsume?" she asked.

Mikan saw him straighten up as he heard her voice, "Hey uh, I was wondering if you would like you like to pick up the children together." He asked.

Mikan gulped, "S-Sure." She looked at herself, and then opened the door a little bit. "Could you please close your eyes?"

Natsume looked at her confused, but then he saw her long beautiful hair wet, messily descending through her bare shoulders. His eyes wondered down and noticed her exposed thighs, and the freaking short towel. Mikan noticed where his eyes were wondering and she faked a cough, bringing attention to her face again.

"I'm sorry." He quickly apologized, "I can come back later, or wait in the car." He quickly suggested, a little nervous.

"No! Come in, I'll prepare us some coffee. Just close your eyes please." She chuckled.

And so he did, Natsume covered his eyes and stepped inside her house, he heard the door closing and her quick steps going away from him. "May I look now?"

Natsume heard another door closing and a shout coming from another division.

"You can open, I'll be right there please make yourself home!"

He uncovered his eyes and looked around, Natsume started to walk into the living area and smiled, it was nicely decorated.

**Natsume's POV**

So this is what a homely house looks like, no large spaces, no neutral colors…It's funny, the colors make me feel warm and happy. I also liked the smell.

"Meow."

What?

I turned around and saw a white furry ball staring at me. I didn't know that she had a cat.

I like cats. She has a cat.

I hope this one likes me though.

"Hey there," I bended down and reached slowly to pat its head, the cat seemed doubtful, he glared at me and I know he was suspecting what kind of person I was. I smiled at it, reassuring I wouldn't hurt it.

I owned a cat when I was a kid, had it since it was two months old but unfortunately he jumped from my window and ran away, I never saw my kitty again. That was the first time that my heart got broken.

I noticed the collar around its neck; it said 'Aiden', "Aiden? Is that you name?" it was actually pretty fitting and a good name too. "I won't hurt you Aiden, come here." He said softly.

**Normal POV**

Aiden approached to smell his hand, when he saw no danger he closed the gap between them and let Natsume touch his head, he gladly pet the animal and smiled when Aiden started to purr. After petting Natsume stood up and started to look around more, followed by Aiden of course. He walked closely to a book shelve, where some frames of photos were standing, he grabbed one in particular. It seemed to be Kenshin's fourth anniversary, Mikan was holding him on her lap and Kenshin was grinning, in front of them was a round chocolate cake with a candle in the shape of a '4'. But what Natsume saw was Mikan's smile; it was so genuine, so pure, so…beautiful.

She was beautiful.

He placed the frame back on the book shelve and a door opened, he glanced towards the entrance and saw a very dressed (thank god) Mikan smiling shyly at him.

He decided to adore that smile.

"Sorry for making you wait." She said, "Would you like some coffee?"

Natsume nodded, "If it is okay."

Mikan was wearing flat jeans and a sleeve dress-shirt; she also had an overcoat, since it was a little cold in flat.

He followed her to the kitchen, where she was, clicking on a coffee machine while humming a happy tune, he leaned on the door frame and watched her Mikan as she poured coffee on the two mugs.

"How do you drink it?"

"Two sugars please."

She nodded and put two cubes of sugars on his mug and three on hers. Then Mikan handed his mug and he gladly took it, she stood in front of him and sipped with a smile, he did the same and showed a content face.

"It's good." He praised.

"Thanks." She giggled, "What time it is?" she asked.

Natsume checked on his wrist watch and took another sip before responding, "Half past two."

She nodded, "We have twenty minutes." Another sip.

Natsume realized something, he asked this woman to go out with him and have a coffee on Saturday, to get to know each other. A date. But since then, they have been meeting and drinking coffee every day together. He told her that, he couldn't keep it on his mind. Mikan smiled.

"Yes, I've noticed that too. At this rate, we won't have anything to say to each other Saturday won't we?"

He chuckled, Mikan couldn't help to feel attracted to his deep velvet voice that made her shiver, she just gulped it down by taking another sip from her coffee and calm down.

They decided to stop staring at each other and sit on the couch, they talked about what were their favorite's things to do, Mikan announced Natsume about her early vacation.

"Good for you, I only have vacation in the day before Christmas's eve." He grunted, "Can't even spend time with Isamu."

She bit her lower lips, "I'm sorry to hear that Natsume."

He dismissed it with his hand, "Oh I almost forgot, Isamu wants Kenshin to sleepover this Saturday, is that okay?" he asked, placing the mug on the coffee table.

"Of course, I don't see why not." Mikan smiled, "I'm glad they're becoming closer."

"Ran is also coming, I never saw two boys at this age hanging with a girl that much." He smirked.

"Well, I think Kenshin sees Ran-chan as a sister. He told me once that he always wanted one." She smiled, remembering.

"Do you want another baby?" Natsume blunted that question without thinking; he mentally punched himself for doing it. Her smile faded in seconds, "I'm sorry, that was stupid." He quickly added.

"No, it's…alright." She looked at him, "It's not that I don't want…but can I really love another man? When Kenshin asked me that I thought on marriage, I thought if I would really marry, I wondered if Kenshin would get a fatherly figure in the future. His question put me in deep thought…so to answer your question, yes Natsume, I would like to have another child. With or without a man, even if I have to adopt one, I don't care if I never find love…I'm already loved enough." Mikan explained softly, knowing that the last part was a lie.

Natsume pursed his lips on a thin line, he stared into Mikan's expressive hazel eyes and she stared back.

He leaned a little.

She didn't move.

"Mikan…I'm sure you'll be just fine." He almost whispered, gazing intensely at her.

"Really?" she gave him a sad smile, "Because I almost lost all hope."

He smiled and cupped her cheek, "Don't."

Mikan shivered again, this time with his touch. Why was he affecting her so much?

Why was he touching her like this? Natsume knew that he was invading her privacy, but he just wanted to make sure that she was alright.

"You're a beautiful woman," he continued, "a good mother, you work hard, you're protective, you're adorable when you are nervous," Mikan's cheeks flushed in a deep red, "Oh yes, I still remember last night, which makes me say that you're also awkwardly funny. You're also brave Mikan, you completely defeat the foes of your past and you got through all that crap with your head high. You're independent and you're just simply…amazing. You're well, very optimistic about everything and you're so honest about your feelings, you can't lie. I bet you're a terrible liar."

She chuckled, "Yes, everyone says that."

He gave her a genuine smile, "So don't lose your hope just yet."

She smiled cheekily at him, "And you're a sweet man Natsume, thank you."

Natsume froze when she leaned at him and pecked his cheek; she was close enough for him to smell her strawberry scent.

Now she smelled his favorite fruit, god.

"You're, uh, I mea- that was nothing. You're welcome. Thank you for the coffee." He rushed.

She chuckled and stood up, "Let's go get out kids then."

He nodded and followed her to the door, somewhat, when she said 'our kids' made Natsume's inside twist, but in a good away.

Part of his almost wished that they were really picking up their kids as a family.

As a true, not broken family.

* * *

**A/N: *smiles* **

**Btw, here's the kid's schedule: [Took it from the internet]**

**8:20-9:20: Comprehension Skill; Word Work (spelling, structural analysis, phonics, vocabulary)**

**9:20-10:20: Reading; Literacy Centers;**

**10:20-11:00: Teacher Read-aloud (comprehension, vocabulary); Writer's Workshop. (Silent reading)**

**11:00-11:30: Lunch.**

**11:30-11:35: Restroom break.**

**11:35-11:55: Recess.**

**11:55-12:00: Water and Restroom.**

**12:00-1:15: Math.**

**1:15-1:35: Science/Social Studies.**

**1:35-1:40: Transition for specials.**

**1:40-2:25: Specials. (Art, Music, PE, and Lab)**

**2:25-2:30: Restroom.**

**2:30-2:50: Science/Social Studies (Dismissal)**

**I'm thinking on writing a one-shot about how did Kenshin and Ran met and became friends.**

**Also: 'Recipe of Love' won guys, the voting is over! :D Thanks for voting~**

**Thanks for the support!**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned!**


	17. Untitled!

**People from Portugal that are reading this story, can I get a woot woot? Yes, I'm finally revealing my home country: Portugal! **

**:D That's a country in Europe btw. That one that looks like a skinny face with a pointy noise. (I actually live on that nose)**

**Thanks for voting! You can really stop now, Recipe of Love won! (and it's still winning, wow!)**

**Here's a new chapter!**

* * *

The two adults headed out the apartment building, Natsume leading the way and Mikan only followed him with a smile on her face. The man was still recovering from the sudden peck; he was never, ever kissed like that, a 'thank you' kiss. The only time that he was kissed like that was from his mother, it has been a while.

He unlocked his car and opened the door for the female; she gladly thanked him and sat inside, next to the driver's seat. He closed the door when her legs were fully inside and walked around his Mercedes, just to walk inside as well and start the engineer.

"Do you want me to turn the heat?" he asked, feeling the cool air inside the car. Damn weather.

"No it's fine." She assured, "But if you're cold you can turn it on, it's indifferent for me Natsume."

He nodded and turned it on anyway, he could see Isamu complaining about how it was too cold inside the car, just like the last time. Isamu didn't like the cold at all; he was more of a summer kid. It was weird because Natsume loved winter, he loved everything cold. Maybe it was not **that** weird, the boy is not obligated of acting 100% like Natsume just because he looks like him. Natsume shook his head and started to drive towards the elementary school where his son, and Mikan's son, would be waiting.

He cringed.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, with a hint of concern.

He nodded quickly, dismissing it and she tilted her head in confusion. With a shrug, the brunette looked outside the window and smiled. "They're starting to decorate the streets, great."

He paused before responding, "Yes, Christmas came quickly uh?"

"Yep. I love Christmas, I get to see my parents again." She smiled.

"Mikan, you said that you were raised in a village. How did you end up here?" he suddenly asked.

"When I was twelve my parents decided that it would better if I had a proper education and since my grandfather was living here he accepted me with open arms."

"Oh. He…"

She nodded, "Yes, he died when I was seventeen. Since then I started to live on my own." She explained, sounding a little sad. Just a little.

He didn't spoke for the next two minutes.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, I just wish he could've meet Kenshin you know?"

He nodded, "I understand."

The car went silent, but in a comfortable one. Mikan knew that they were almost close to the school; she checked her watch and saw that there was still five minutes to the bell ring. Natsume parked the car on an empty spot close to the gates and turned off the engineer. They looked at each other suddenly but then they looked away, surprised.

* * *

The books were guarded, the teacher was watching the classroom like a hawk and the children were happy that I was almost time to leave. They all waited, chatting between their little groups.

Kenshin was getting mad at Isamu because apparently he teased the brunette again, Ran only watched in amusement thinking that the situation wasn't that serious to be stopped, her eyes were on her two male friends and she smiled to herself.

But Ran also felt observed, she glanced and noticed Akemi staring at her. The amber eyed girl didn't know what to do, she acted politely and gave a small wave, to Ran's surprise, Akemi smiled at her and waved back.

She looked at her desk nervously; she wasn't used to be friends with anyone than Kenshin. Then Isamu came along and now is Akemi? Ran wondered if Akemi could be her friend in the future, but she shook her head to that thought. It was too soon for that.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the dismissal bell rang; everyone grabbed their schoolbags and walked towards the exited to the classroom.

"C'mon Ran-chan!" Kenshin called followed by Isamu, they were passing by her desk. Isamu looked at her, waiting. She smiled at them and grabbed her schoolbag as well, when she stood up Nana purposely bumped her shoulder against Ran's, who dropped the bag on the floor, she glanced at her and Nana smirked before walking away.

Kenshin quickly picked Ran's bag and glared at the way that Nana walked by, Isamu just growled.

"It's alright Isamu-san, I'm used to it." Ran smiles.

"You shouldn't!" he snapped, making Ran frown.

"Don't talk with her like that!" Kenshin shouted.

"G-Guys let's just go, our parents must be waiting." Ran said grabbing her back from Kenshin's hands; she walked away from them without a word. Kenshin glared at Isamu before rolling his eyes and following her with quick steps.

"Ran wait up!" he cried.

Isamu sighed and followed Kenshin.

Kenshin and Ran went to the line of children and looked outside, expecting their parents, Isamu joined them after and he was looking at Ran, trying to find the words to say. Just when he was about to open his mouth Ran waved her hand and said her goodbyes to Kenshin, then she walked outside to what it seemed to be her parents. "How was school sweetie?" he heard her father said.

Isamu could only frown, he noticed Kenshin looking at him.

"What? I wanted to apologize." He grunted.

"You're such a coward." The boy teased.

"No I'm not! She walked away!" Isamu shouted.

"Whatever." He mumbled, going back with searching his mother, "Oh! Ma is with your dad again." He said.

Isamu's frown disappeared, he looked in the way of Kenshin's eyes and his eyes gleamed. Both boys walked towards Natsume and Mikan, who were close to each other. Mikan smiled down at her son.

"Guess who's on vacation?" she giggled.

He gasped, "YOU! YAY!" he hugged her legs, "That's great ma! We can spend more time together now!" he squealed.

"Yes! How was school darling?" she patted his head in a motherly way.

While the scene was happening, Natsume noticed Isamu's stare at the two brunettes and he could clearly see envy on his son's face, there was also pain and a hint of jealously. The man sighed.

"How was school Isamu?" he asked, catching his son's attention.

"Uh? Ah, it was err…normal." He shrugged.

Natsume nodded and looked at Mikan, "Do you want a ride home? I think it's going to rain soon, I don't mind." He offered.

"That would be nice, thank you." She smiled, and then turned to the little raven haired boy, who was feeling ignored. "Hello Isamu, how are you?" she patted his head.

He stared up at her for a little and gave her a small smile, "I'm fine Ms. Yukihira."

She turned at Natsume, "Well then, let's go?"

* * *

"If you want, I could give you a ride home every day. I don't mind."

Mikan looked at Natsume surprised; they had just arrived to her apartment's building. Kenshin was talking with Isamu in the back about something to do with 'apologizing to Ran tomorrow or else you're dead' and the adults decided that they should resolve that thing between them, the ride passed with Mikan deliberately staring at Natsume sometimes while he drove. Of course that he noticed that but he never complained.

"Are you sure? I think that it's too much trouble."

"Nuisance."

"Yeah! Dad can do that! He doesn't mind!" Isamu suddenly said, leaning his head between the adults.

Mikan chuckled, "Alright, thank you. I accept your proposition Mr. Hyuuga." She joked, faking a serious voice.

"You mean Mr. Big Guy right?" he smirked, making her blush.

"What is he talking about ma?" Kenshin asked utterly confused, Isamu looked at them for an answer as well. But the two adults just looked at each other before giggling; well Natsume only gave a short scoff of course.

"Alright, out you go Shin-chan, you have to take a bath." She said opening the door and stepping outside. Kenshin whined but he opened the door as well.

"Seeya tomorrow Isacootie." Kenshin mocked.

"SHUT UP IDIOT!" Isamu growled, closing the door in Kenshin's face. He could see Kenshin sticking his tongue by the window and Isamu did the same. Soon the two boys crossed in a battle of sticking tongues out. Mikan could only smile at Natsume in apologize and he couldn't help but do the same.

"See you tomorrow Natsume." She sweetly said, starting to head towards the door while Kenshin grabbed her hand.

Natsume waited to see her walk inside the building, she took a last glance at him before completely disappearing and Natsume couldn't help but to stare intensely.

Isamu noticed his dad's look, it was something strange to the boy, he never saw his dad look at someone like that before, but Isamu felt like he did. This reminded him of Ran Asawara.

He really needed to apologize to her tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: Hmmmmmmmmmmm.**

**Stay tuned! **


	18. Thunderstorm!

**I wasn't happy with the previous chapter it was more like a filler wasn't it? So I'm updating this right away.**

* * *

Natsume sometimes wondered why he was being too nice to Mikan Yukihira. He was being very friendly and calm towards her; maybe it was because he wasn't expecting anything from her so soon. She wasn't a threat to anyone or to him or maybe because she was simply a normal woman trying to live her life as a single mother.

No she wasn't simply a normal woman, she was more than that.

Natsume has to admit that since his marriage ended he has been colder towards the female population; he knew that it was childish and stupid but he was. A year later he had completely regret his decision, there was women that he hurt without any reason, well there was really one – his ex-wife.

But he didn't want to think on _her_ right now, he tried to avoid her and it was easy since she was not on the country at the moment, good grief. He sometimes had nightmares of her appearing at his door with her smile, her smugly and evil smile.

She had become a vile woman. He didn't see it coming.

When Natsume arrived to his penthouse Aoi wasn't there, she had left a note saying that today she would work until late. Isamu went to his room and as usual, he was left alone. Natsume sighed and walked towards his bedroom, where he started to strip off his clothes and throwing them to his king-sized bed. Then he entered his bathroom and clicked on a touch button that turned to the warm water descending from his shower that looked like a waterfall. He gazed at it for a few moments, waiting for it to get hot.

He walked inside and his muscles relaxed as the water hit his body, this was the time where Natsume could think about everything without being interrupted. He thought on Mikan, and that made him smile.

This woman really meant danger.

He thought on her smile first, her shy smile. She was shy around him sometimes and he liked that, it was like she was vulnerable.

_Stop._

No dirty thoughts, god no. He respected women now; he knows that they are not objects to use when he's depressed about his love life, or when he feels alone. No, women deserve respect.

He sighed.

He respects Mikan Yukihira.

Throughout the shower, he wondered if his relationship with the brunette would really move on to something more, he actually felt a ting of happiness when imagining her as his- _crap._

He chuckled.

Every time he thought on her it would always lead for a romantic relationship. He pondered if he could only just be really good friends with her, she would be around more, Isamu would be happier and Natsume would be as well, but then, she could date another man.

Natsume opened his sharp eyes and glared at his shower wall.

Imagining Mikan with another man made him angry, when he told her to not lose hope on love he was only trying to make her feel better, he didn't like seeing a frown on her face.

_Liar._

Alright, Natsume had to admit that he said that because of him. He was right there, in front of her and he panicked when Mikan started having that talk about 'losing hope', I mean, could she be denser? He asked her on a date!

_Oh._

Natsume asked Mikan on a date, and it was a simple accident. Asking her for coffee was blunted out, it was like his mouth and voice took control over his body but he couldn't help it, internally he wanted to go on a date with her, but he just realized that now.

_Who's the dense one now?_

He turned off the water, the shower was over. And so was the thinking. Natsume wrapped a towel around his waist and he smiled, remembering the 'accident' between him and Mikan, he glanced at his door and he could imagine her body standing there, with the cute embarrassed expression and her quick stuttering words. He sighed and looked at the mirror.

He decided that Isamu wasn't the only one wanting Mikan Yukihira, the beautiful independent single mother.

There's no going back now.

"The game is aloof."

* * *

Mikan was humming a happy tune while she rubbed Kenshin's head, expanding his green apple scent shampoo all over his chocolate wet hair.

"Are you happy ma?" he asked with a smile.

She raised her brow, "I'm always happy when I'm with you silly."

"I'm happy when you're with me too ma!" he chuckled, "But you look different!" he continued, he looked a little nervous though.

"Care to explain?" she mused.

He thought for a moment, for a seven-year-old he sure acted mature sometimes, "Are you thinking about Mr. Hyuuga?"

Her eyes widen and she stopped scrubbing to stare at her son, her baby boy. Kenshin gulped, he was asking this because Isamu said he would do the same, he said that he should talk about Natsume to his mother because then she would think of Natsume even more.

"What?!" she exclaimed with a scoff.

"W-Well, are you? Because uh-that's good ma!" he quickly flashed a grin at her, and then he looked away.

Mikan stared in awe, what on earth?

"Look up." She ordered softly, he obeyed and Mikan washed out the shampoo from his hair, "I don't know what you're trying to say but…what you think of Natsume?"

Mikan couldn't help but panic, she didn't want her son thinking that he was there to be his father, that Natsume was going to marry his mother and take her away from him, she read books and Mikan was scared that Kenshin would be jealous.

Only if she knew that it was exactly the opposite at the moment.

While Kenshin thought, she started to scrub his body with the body crème, "I thought he was the vampire master first," Mikan couldn't help but giggle, "But he's really nice right ma?" he continued, she nodded.

"Yes, he's a good man. Good." She washed his body from head to toe.

"Do you like him?"

"Kenshin Yukihira!"

He cringed, "Yes ma?"

"You're saying weird things…are you alright sweetie?" she turned off the water and reached for his Pikachu towel. Mikan wrapped it around his small body and helped him stepping out of the shower cube.

Kenshin nodded and neither of them talked about it again. Mikan walked with her son towards his bedroom and Aiden was lying on his bed, Kenshin giggled and rubbed his belly making Aiden purr.

Mikan was choosing his pajamas; they weren't going out anymore today. She set the clothing on the bed and bended down to dry Kenshin's hair, he squealed when she purposely shook the towel on his head too quickly.

"Maaaaamaaaaa!" he giggled, they both giggled. Both act childish.

"There, you look great."

It was sarcastic, Kenshin's hair was all up, and to the sides all messy. He stared at his mother with a 'are you kidding me' look.

"No really, nice style. Now, let's get dressed shall we?"

"NO! I wanna be naked forever!" Kenshin jumped to his bed (scaring Aiden) and started to jump on it. "Naked! Naked!"

Mikan stood up and placed her hands on her waist, she raised an eyebrow in suggestion, "So you'll go to school naked?"

"YEAH!"

"Ran-chan will see you naked?"

He stopped jumping, "I wanna get dressed" he quickly said, showing a hint of red on his cheeks. Mikan chuckled.

"Alright-y then, come here."

And so Mikan spent almost half an hour trying to dress his hyper and ticklish son, they ended up chasing each other around the house, well Mikan was the one chasing him because her son had grown to be very sensitive, especially on his feet. They stopped after a while and watched some TV with some snacks, time went by and Kenshin fell asleep against the couch's arm, she smiled and covered him with a warm blanket.

**7:46 PM**

Well it was time to prepare some dinner; she walked towards the kitchen and decided to make turkey beefs with rice. Kenshin had been eating a lot of take-out recently, it was time for a home-cooked meal and Mikan has her spirits up since she didn't need to wake up early in the next day. She started to cook and while she did it Kenshin snoozed softly on the couch, but he did opened his eyes in shock when a sudden thunder made an explosive noise.

Mikan's eyes also widen, she heard it too.

"MAAAAA!"

She smiled; someone is going to sleep in her bed tonight.

* * *

Isamu jumped from his bed when he heard the bloody loud and scary noise. He sat straight and looked to his window; he mentally begged to not see another flash.

But there it was.

He yelped and covered his head with his pillow; he silently heard the loud booming sound coming from outside. How Isamu despised thunderstorms, he was never afraid of them he was more "annoyed" by the sound and the flashes.

Yep, not scared. Annoyed.

Natsume was staring outside throughout the large windows on his bedroom, he whistled in amazement when he saw a long tray of lightning across the grey windows, the rain was also heavy. Somehow he felt secured behind these glasses, it was a magnificent sign.

Of course that he quickly remembered that Isamu was afraid of thunderstorms, when he was three he ran to his arms trembling hardly, the worried father quickly marched to his son's bedroom but he found it empty.

"Isamu? Where are you?" he asked stepping inside, looking around.

He heard a whimper coming under the bed; Natsume blinked and lied down on the floor, knowing that he was right there, curled in fetal position trying to cover his ears.

This is what reminded Natsume that his son was indeed a child needing protection.

"Isamu…it's fine. We're safe." He said softly, reaching for his son.

"I k-know, I'm not scared. It's annoying!" Isamu hurriedly hid his face on Natsume's chest. Grandly, Natsume sat up and crossed his legs, allowing Isamu to lie on his lap; he wrapped his long arms around his child and embraced him.

"I know, but if you actually see it without fearing it. You may see the beauty in it." Natsume said, standing up and sitting on Isamu's bed.

The boy blinked at his father and nodded, "It's so loud dad…"

"It's going to stop soon…I, when you were a baby you cried when there was a thunderstorm, you know what I did?"

Isamu smiled a little, "You placed headphones on my ears and played music?"

Natsume smiled warmly, "Yes, you loved classic music. You would fall asleep quickly; even the loudest thunder couldn't wake you up."

"I…remember a little. Yeah…you also did that when you and mum were yelling at each other." Natsume tensed upon hearing this, "Thanks dad…" Isamu hugged his father.

Natsume hugged him back and sighed, "You're so weird…don't remember those stuff so suddenly kid."

"Sorry dad." Isamu chuckled, "I'm not sad about it, it's over." He lied.

Natsume accepted to believe in that lie; he decided to change the subject.

"You hungry kiddo?"

"Yeah…"

Another booming sound, Isamu tensed on his father's arms.

"Let's cook something today; your aunt must be arriving soon."

Isamu smiled.

* * *

Ran stared into the skies from her window, secretly wishing that she lived on the tallest building the world. She would give anything to see the thunderstorm between those clouds at the moment.

It was absolutely fascinating for this seven-year-old girl.

"Thor must be happy." She commented to herself.

She would always count between the flashlights to the booming, and every time she noticed that the lightings were getting closer she would shiver in delight. How she adored watching the cold heavy rain pour outside with the booming sounds.

While this could terrorize other children, Ran would be highly and utterly in love with the vision and the sound of the natural chaos.

'A ballet of lights' she would call it.

Then she wondered why people called her 'weirdo' and 'nerd', she chuckled to herself.

Who cares about that right now? She was having a free show of a thunderstorm, and she loved every second of it.

Of course that she couldn't help to feel pity for her dear male friend, who was probably sobbing while clinging to his mother for his dear life.

Kenshin was terrified of thunderstorms.

* * *

**A/N: *snaps fingers* Yes I did. I upload two chapters in one day. It was kinda of a fluffy one.**

**Oh well.**

**Stay tuned!**


	19. I'm coming for you, darling!

_**Reo Mouri, a brilliant and successful pop singer. Loved by the female population more than anything and his looks made him pop on the top 10 'sexiest men alive' in fourth place; he started his career young and throughout the years his infamous heart-breaking song 'Love me not' stayed on the top charts of the USA as the most listened music. His records sold more than 5,500,000 albums around the world. Indeed this straight up sexy lad has gotten famous quickly but we always wondered: Why hasn't he found love whilst his seven years of career? He always responded with a 'the love of my fans is already enough' but we are always expecting for a lucky girl to catch his attention – and we were right!**_

_**Today, Reo Mouri had published on his twitter account that he was in a relationship: With Luna Koizumi! You heard me!**_

_**We did a research on her; we found out that she has been married before, three years ago, to the brilliant business man: Natsume Hyuuga. Isn't that completely shocking?! I mean, who would divorce a hot piece of man like Natsume Hyuuga, the CEO of the Hyuuga CORP! Well we guess that business men weren't exactly Luna's type. But wait there's more: Isamu Hyuuga.**_

_**Does that name sound familiar to you? No? Well it should, because this eight-year-old boy (turning nine this December) is the child that Natsume and Luna conceived together while married! So let's resume everything:**_

_**REO MOURI IS DATING A DIVORCED WOMAN THAT IS ALSO A MOTHER! **_

_**And she's actually three years older than him.**_

_**Way to go Reo, we would never expect you to go for a cougar!**_

_**Grrrau! ;D**_

* * *

She smirked as she finished reading the article on the laptop's screen. She was wearing a nightgown, a very transparent one. Her shoulder-length messy strawberry hair fell perfectly through her collarbones, her piercing bright blue eyes narrowed in a malicious way; it matched perfectly when her small lips covered with a massive red lipstick curved up wider, into a creepy but content smile. She was happy; oh she was glad that there were people that didn't mind their own business. She was happy that she was beautiful, beautiful enough to manipulate men, she was happy that Natsume, **her** Natsume would soon see this.

She was happy that Isamu was even mentioned.

She was happy that her plan to ruin his ex-husband's life was beginning perfectly.

"I'm coming for you, _darling._"

* * *

**A/N: Hi! Yes, I uploaded sorry for not being able to do it in the past days. I'm utterly sick!**

**So I posted this for you to understand what will happen in the next chapters, let's just say that this was a preview of a new season, like they do on TV. **

**You better stay tuned!**

**I'll be posting the next chapter in the following hours or tomorrow! **

**Luna: Did you miss me?**

**Oh shut up, don't go Moriarty on us, b*tch! XD **


	20. Between text messages and a boy's mind!

**So yeah Luna is actually Isamu's mother, like some of you predicted!**

**I got different reactions, all of them amused me so much but I want to clear something: Luna doesn't want Natsume back.**

**I DON'T WANT THIS STORY TO BE A CLICHÉ! **

**Things are going to get intense but that doesn't mean that the romance and the fluff are going to be over! Let's just say that Luna's plan is only starting right now XD She won't even make an appearance again that soon. As I said, that chapter was a start to reach the point of the climax.**

**In other words: Sh*t is about to hit the fan. But in slow motion.**

**Btw, I finally have Natsume and Luna's story ready! I can't wait for you guys to know! :D**

**Thanks for the support!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**November 26****th****, 11:23 AM**

**Hyuuga CORP**

Natsume rubbed his temples and leaned back into his office chair with a frustrated sigh. He didn't want to work today; Natsume wasn't a lazy man, well not anymore. As a kid, he would always skip classes and lay under a tree to read a manga but now he had a family to support even so he was wealthy. He stood up from his chair and looked at the view behind him, the man did loved high places and this city, yes he was starting to like this city.

"Mr. Hyuuga?"

He looked at his assistant, Umeko was a thirty-three year-old married woman with two children, her husband was also working for the Corporation. She has been his assistant for already two years and she had proved that she is highly competent for the job. She was professional, rarely was late for work, never did a mistake and knew how to handle people.

"Yes Umeko?"

"Mr. Nogi is on line, he wishes to speak with you." She smiled.

He nodded, "Which one?" Natsume sat back on the chair and grabbed the company's phone.

"Line number two sir, will you be needing something else?"

"No, thank you." He guided the speaker to his ear and he nodded as she left his office.

"Ruka?"

"_**You sound tired."**_

"And you sound French."

Both men laughed through the phone.

"_**I miss you Natsume! How are you doing?" **_

Natsume smiled, Ruka Nogi had been Natsume's best friend since elementary school, the young blonde boy had just arrived from France and nobody talked with him, so Natsume grabbed an English-French dictionary and greeted Ruka in French, to make him feel comfortable.

Natsume found out that Ruka knew English; he was actually only half-French. Mother's side.

The Nogi's were actually wealthier than the Hyuuga's back there, when the two young heirs developed a friendship the two families decided to befriend each other as well. And since then, the two CORP have a steady partnership on the business world.

Ruka had also been there to support Natsume throughout the divorce and he also was there to make sure that his best friend didn't do anything he would later regret. Ruka was also Isamu's godfather and extremely protective of the young boy.

To be honest, Ruka tried to like Luna for Natsume's sake but even if he tried there was always something off with that woman, she was too nice, always had the same smile and she seemed to be a little reckless with Isamu.

"I'm alright." Natsume finally replied.

"_**Good! How's Isamu reacting to the new school?"**_

"Quite well actually, from what I heard he's always around his new two friends. And he had a fight on the first day, he actually didn't use violent but it started because of him."

"_**What?!" **_Ruka chuckled, _**"I'm happy for Isamu, I miss him so much I wish I could be there for Christmas…don't forget to check the posts! I'll send your gifts two days earlier than Christmas!" **_He warned.

"Yeah," Natsume tried not to sigh, "Isamu's been missing you like hell and you're being useless to me."

"_**You broke my heart, jerk."**_

"I don't have time for your heart at the moment." Natsume smirked; Ruka could be a drama-queen sometimes.

"_**Ooooh~? So you're busy enchanting another one? What's her name?"**_

Crap.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Natsume quickly lied.

"_**Natsume, I've known you for twenty-two years you can't lie to me." **_

Natsume rolled his eyes, he could feel Ruka grinning like an idiot that he is.

"She's…just the mother of Isamu's friend. Mikan Yukihira." He explained slowly.

"_**Her name is prett- DID YOU JUST SAID MOTHER? Oh my god Natsume, you're flirting with mothers?!" **_Ruka laughed.

"Shut up." He groaned.

"_**Ah! I have to go now but don't you dare that this conversation is over! I'll call you tomorrow…ah wait, probably not."**_ Ruka sighed sadly,"_**Being a successful bastard sucks."**_

"We should get normal jobs and work in a coffee shop."Natsume joked.

"_**Oui, well I must go now. Bye Natsume, good luck with Mikan Yukihira!" **_

"Stay away from the wine. Bye Ruka."

With a soft chuckle coming from his friend, the line went dead. Natsume decided to check a site that sometimes gave useful articles and breaking news, to see if anything was going well in his company. He realized that he did not had Mikan's phone number, that was the first thing that he would ask next time he would see her, which was going to be pretty soon.

But suddenly he froze, staring at the screen.

His world stopped completely as he read the news that got his attention, mostly because it said 'REO MOURI'S NEW GIRLFRIEND'.

Reo, he was Mikan's ex and Kenshin's father. Natsume glared at the screen and clicked on the title.

What he saw next could not have prepared him, this was too much. There she was; his vile, false, sneaky ex-wife next to him, Mikan's ex-boyfriend. Both smiling next to each other.

He had to back away from the screen before scrolling down to read the actual article. He was still thinking if he really wanted to read it. Natsume was terrified. As he read it his fears grew more and anger took all over when the reporter mentioned Isamu's name. His son wasn't supposed to get affected by this, for god's sake he was starting to laugh again and this could ruin everything.

First, Natsume needed to contact Mikan and tell her the situation and second he would need to make sure that Isamu would not appear in any article or even on the news. Natsume quickly dialed a number that he thought he would never dial again.

He called Hotaru Imai.

* * *

**12:05 PM**

Mikan sighed in content, she was really enjoying the first day of her vacation.

She had woken up at ten and took a very long a deserving bubble bath, then Mikan went out and bought some groceries because the

supplies were almost gone and she was in the mood for cooking, she walked to see the Christmas's decorations on the streets and when she got home she was able to re-watch some of her favorite episodes of The Big Bang Theory. At the moment, she was sitting on the couch curled up around a blanket, Aiden was snoozing next to her and the only noise that was lively was from the TV. Mikan giggled again to another scene, she had to admit that looking outside and seeing the cold weather made her feel better, made her feel that she was safe.

Mikan changed channels and passed by MTV.

"_The notice has been spreading around the internet like fire on a gasoline tray, Reo Mouri an-"_

She quickly continued to another channel with a frown, she couldn't care less what was going on with that bastard. Not anymore.

Suddenly her vibrated rang from the coffee table, she let out a lazy groan and reached for it, she raised a brow when seeing an unrecognized number, she opened the text.

**We need to talk, are you free right now?  
-NH**

"What the heck?" she mumbled.

**Who are you?**

She sent the text and glanced around the area, feeling uneasy.

**You don't know? It's actually not that hard to find out, I gave you a clue. Who do you know that has the first and last name starting with the letters 'NH'?  
-NH**

Mikan scoffed, then she tried to remember. Who did she knew?

No, wait. It couldn't. He didn't have her number.

**Natsume? How did you get my number? And why do you sign you texts with the first letters of your names? You're not Sherlock.**

She giggled, if Natsume had curls and blue eyes he could be Sherlock.

**That doesn't matter now; I need to talk with you about something serious.  
-NH**

She could feel the seriousness on those words.

**Alright, I'm free right now…**

She suddenly felt nervous.

**We'll talk when it's time to pick up the children, you guys can come over again.  
-NH**

She stood up and texted.

**Are you sure it's alright? It won't be any trouble? **

**No, Aoi is rarely home now and Isamu will like it.  
-NH**

**Okay then, Natsume I can officially say that our date on Saturday won't exactly be the first.**

She waited for his reply, when it came she smiled.

**Why?  
-NH**

**Because you just asked me to have dinner with you. And this time don't blame it on your son. :)**

He didn't reply after that one, which made Mikan proud and nervous. She looked at the clock on her wall and rolled her eyes at it.

**12:24 PM**

It was still until three hours for school to be over.

* * *

Isamu nervously looked at his lady friend, he still needed to apologize for half-yelling at her yesterday but he didn't do it because he was mad at her, he did it because Ran was taking the bullying coming from Nana like something normal, she should defense herself. He was so angry at the fact that she was probably being bullied since last year.

Why was he so protective over her?

Maybe he saw her as a sister, or maybe just wanted to repay when she calmed him down at the movies.

Ran did bring some senses over him. She acted like a…mum. Yeah, she was always there to prevent him and Kenshin from taking their arguments to violence, she was there to give advices and her soft voice made Isamu calm down instantly.

It has been weeks since he met Kenshin and Ran, the friendship with Kenshin had been better since they agree with each other on their plan and since there they always got their back. But he felt closer with Ran on a different kind of way.

Helping him calm down on the movies was the first time that he actually saw Ran as a friend but when she agree on helping him getting a mum she had totally gain his trust.

No, she was not like a mum to him. She was more than that but – she was only a new friend. Right?

Isamu groaned, bringing some attention from the amber eyed girl without noticing.

Why was she on his mind? He couldn't get this feeling! Ran was intelligent, she was bullied but she was strong, she was always there to help her friends, Ran was there for him!

But she was Kenshin's best friend.

Now why did this thought let Isamu feel sad?

The little boy was feeling too many things that he didn't understand, he really needed to ask his father about this, maybe he knew.  
But Kenshin was also afraid of the answer.

He always disliked girls, at least the ones in his old school and at the moment, some girls in his class. Ran was his first female friend.

His thoughts were interrupted when the school bell rang. He saw his classmates excitedly leaving to get lunch, he was doing the same while Kenshin walked by his side; just when Kenshin was about to start a conversation Ran stops him.

"Isamu-san can I speak with you?"

Her voice was calm, but Isamu felt nervous anyways although he didn't show it.

"Sure." He nodded.

Kenshin was left behind, he lean against the wall and watched his two friends talking far enough for him not to hear.

When they were alone Isamu looked at her with a questioning look.

"Are you alright?"

He mentally cringed, "Yes I'm fine."

She stared at him and sighed, "Are you sure? You know I'm here if you need something…"

He nodded, "I know, I'm fine." He quickly said.

She slowly smiled, "Alright, I believe you." She was obviously lying but Isamu didn't notice.

"Hey Ran?"

"Yes?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry for yesterday, I shouldn't have yelled at you." he looked at the floor.

"It's alright, I didn't even remember that." she giggled.

"No it wasn't fine, I was a jerk!" Isamu surprised himself by saying that.

She smiled warmly, "Thanks for apologizing it means a lot to me."

His cheeks flushed a little, he didn't know if he liked this feeling. He decided to quickly change the subject.

"You can call me just Isamu you know?" he said feeling a little confident, he actually had been a little uncomfortable when she called him that.

Her cheek showed a color of a sot pink, "Alright…Is-Isamu."

_Cute,_ was the word that it was on his mind, she was so nervous just because she had to say his name.

Kenshin might be right after all, there's a first for everything.

Maybe Isamu had the cooties.

And he didn't hate it at all.

* * *

**A/N: I just got home from the hospital, sorry for not uploading! The good news is that I feel much better :D Expect another chapter soon! **

**Very soon!**

**I'm super excited for this and I have hinted that something probably is going on between Isamu and Ran. But I want to hear your opinion, should I really pair up Ran with one of the boys?**

**I know that they're young but Isamu is actually going to be nine years old, is normal that he starts to discover new feeling and as you read he doesn't have a clue what those new feelings are.**

**BY THE WAY, Thanksgiving is on Natsume's birthday this year. Should I make a thanksgiving chapter? I don't think it would be okay at this moment since in my story November 27****th**** is tomorrow. So I'm sorry…**

**SO. Yeah :D**

**Thanks for the support!**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned! **


	21. The brave one!

**RECIPE OF LOVE IS OFICIALLY OUT! It's only a preview though. C: I'm super excited; it's going to be so cereal! **

**And when I asked about if I should pair up Ran with someone I was talking about in the future, they are obviously too young to date XD lol**

**Might start posting slower now… D: I'm sorry!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Wait I think I saw one!"

"Where?!"

"Behind that car!"

Three children were currently sitting on a bed in a dark bedroom, in the middle was Isamu that had his laptop on top of his legs, he was concentrated and he narrowed his short eyebrows, at his right was a petite girl called Ran, she was also staring at the laptop's screen with a keen concentrated face, she was the one that was helping Isamu the most because the brunette that sat on Isamu's left side was busy covering his face and yelling for him to not look back.

Isamu was always making the character in the game look back and that always petrified Kenshin.

"Isamu don't look back, you'll die!" Ran scowled when he did it again.

"I'm just checking if he's there." Isamu responded absentmindedly, secretly smirking knowing that he was scaring the crap out of his friend.

Ran rolled her eyes and continued to watch as Isamu picked another note.

* * *

_Always watches. No eyes._

* * *

"What does it say?" Kenshin asked, finally uncovering his eyes.

"Always watches. No eyes." Ran responded raising both of her brows, she was curious.

"Oh dang…" Isamu whispered as the game started transmitted a scary music.

"Now the real game begins…" Ran giggled, almost manically.

Kenshin shot her a look, "WHY ARE YOU SO HAPPY ABOUT THAT?!"

"DON'T YELL I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE!" Isamu growled, pausing the game.

Ran rolled her eyes, obviously the two of them were freaking out with the game. "If you two are scared, we can play something else…" she suggested slowly.

"No!" both of them complained.

Isamu unpaused and proceeded.

The character walked through the woods and there was a boring silence, Kenshin pointed at a tree. "What's that?!"

"Must be another note, good work!" Ran praised.

"I saw it first." Isamu mumbled, walking towards the tree.

"C'mon hurry he might be behind us!" The brunette whined.

Ran smiled when he finally clicked on the note.

* * *

_Don't look…Or it takes you_

* * *

Ran read it out loud.

"Oh maaaaan, this game is scary." Kenshin sighed.

Isamu shrugged it away, but when he turned around to receive the face of Slender Man and a loud noise followed by a high-pitchy sound that made the three yelp/scream and jump from the screen to look away. Kenshin jumped so much that when he fell from the bed, Isamu accidently jumped on Ran and clinged on her for his life.

She was just shocked to even notice it.

"WHA-WHAT WAS THAT! IT WAS AN ALIEN! A WHITE MASK!" Kenshin cried from the floor.

"Always watches…no eyes…don't look…or it takes you!" Ran repeated as she realized something.

"Uh?" Isamu finally realized what was happening and backed away from the girl, returning to his original position.

"Can't you see it?! No eyes! That thing had no eyes like the note said! And the second note said to not look at it, or it takes us! So we have to grab the notes without looking at it!" she explained with a proud and warm grin.

"UH?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Kenshin exclaimed, going back to sitting next to Isamu, he glared at the screen with regret, "Let's just play something else…"

"Are you scared?" Isamu asked, "You gonna cry again?"

Kenshin glared at him, "Let it go Isacootie!"

"Boys let's just keep playing alright…" she looked at Isamu; "Can play this time?" she smiled.

He nodded quickly and they switched seats, not Ran was the one in the middle with the laptop on her lap. Kenshin and Isamu moved closer and looked at the screen.

"Alright, now we know how the alien looks." She told them, "Now the game is really on." She said the last part to herself; both males shared a worried look towards her.

And so Ran clicked the play button, she walked fearlessly on the dust road; Ran used the mouse and looked up on the game.

"Wow, the sky's so pretty!" she commented with a grin.

"Ran-chan look down!" Kenshin cried, "What if he's right in your face?"

"Doubt it, the game started now and I haven't found a note yet. Besides he's behind me, wanna look?"

"NO!"

Too late, Ran rotated her character to look behind, "Oh look, actually he's not even there yet. So don't worry!"

"You're mean!"

Ran giggled, "Sorry!"

Isamu smiled, both boys watched as Ran travelled to the open road to a sudden maze of some kind of big barrels.

"Oh there's a house there!" she said.

Kenshin groaned, "Yay."

"Oh I saw a note!" Isamu said calmly while pointing at one of the barrels.

Ran nodded and walked there, they looked at the note and she read it.

* * *

_LEAVE ME __ALONE_

* * *

"See? Let's leave it alone!" Kenshin gulped.

Ran and Isamu totally ignored him and so she proceeded to walk inside the house, she looked around and gasped. "There must be a note here." She said checking one room, "Oh they make us go back…brilliant."

"AAAAH! YOU HAVE TO WALK BACK THAT'S SCARY!" Kenshin said while reaching for a pillow, he covered almost his face.

"Coward." Isamu mumbled, still watching his lady friend play.

Ran smirked a little, she enjoyed playing these challenging games and she knew that Slender would appear in this house but there was a chance to escape, and she wanted to do that. She finally strolled in another corridor and entered in another division, where a chair was and beside it another note, Kenshin sighed and shook his head and she approach it to read loudly:

* * *

_Can't run_

* * *

"Oh my god, we can't run." Kenshin cried.

"Shut up, you're being annoying, just watch!" Isamu hissed.

Ran left that division slowly, the passage to walk back to the woods was right in front of her but she felt like it was too easy, she had two notes already and she wanted a sight from him.

She got what she wanted when her character left the building, he was right next to her and the game made that scary loud sound again, Kenshin grew winds and flew again and Isamu only jumped a little but Ran reacted and made her character run to the opposite direction, entering the woods.

"DID YOU DIE?" Kenshin asked, sitting next to her again.

"No she didn't, because she's braver than you. Idiot." Isamu rolled his eyes.

Ran smiled, not taking her eyes from the game, "Thank you Isamu."

Kenshin sighed, "Where did you get this game?"

"My aunt downloaded it. Dad doesn't know." Isamu shrugged.

The boy paled, "Are you saying that we're not supposed to play this?"

Ran paused the game and looked at her best friend, "No, this is not rated for our age." She explained, "But it's only a silly game about legend." She continued to play.

Kenshin kept staring at her, his eyes widen like ping-pong balls. Isamu gritted his teeth when Ran turned around and the 'alien' was not so far away, he said something to Ran and she giggled in response, but Kenshin didn't hear it. He was too busy working on what he just heard.

"He's…real…?" he whispered.

None of the children heard, they celebrated a little when Ran found another note.

* * *

_Follows_

* * *

"Yep." Ran and Isamu said in unison, both also chuckled together.

Kenshin stared with horror to his friends; they were having fun with this terrorizing game?!

He looked at the door of Isamu's bedroom.

There were three things that he was sure:

One was that his mother was with Mr. Hyuuga at the moment, having a (what she explained to be) private conversation, the second was that Ran would also having dinner with them and the third was the he was now sacredly and utterly terrified of Slender Man.

Ran was reading another note when he was done with his thoughts.

_**NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO**_

That was exactly how Kenshin felt at the moment.

* * *

**A/N: Just a cute scene with the kids while Natsume tells Mikan about Reo and Luna. Of course that in the next chapter you will read the actual conversation. XD I came up with this idea because my brother and I played this like hours ago and he was so scared but I was like 'why are you scared this is cool', in other words, I was Ran and he was Kenshin. :p Love you bro! (I know you're reading this)**

**THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT!**

**Reviews make me happy!**

**Stay tuned! **


	22. Promises!

"I'm sorry what?"

Mikan could not believe in what was happening, it was shocking and it didn't make any sense at all. There was no way that she could see this happening, this was out of control. Mikan didn't know why this affect would Kenshin and her but she had a bad feeling about this situation, nothing good could come out of this. Nothing good came out of Reo Mouri anyways. What the hell was going on?

"Reo Mouri is dating my ex-wife." He repeated while looking out of the window of the office that he had on his apartment.

"That is…strange." She commented.

He stared at her, like he was waiting for more reactions. But nothing came.

"Yes, it's strange. But you think it's only that Mikan?" he pressed.

She shrugged, "To be honest Natsume, I don't care who he dates or loves. Not anymore." She gave him a forced smile.

"So you're okay with all this?" he asked, not that calmly.

Mikan sighed, of course she was uncomfortable but it was more than that, she just didn't wanted to waste her time with caring about it. "It's rather a little…awkward."

"Mikan let me tell you a story. When I was sixteen years old and I had to move to another city, so I was completely alone in my new high school, comes along this beautiful girl called Luna and she slowly gains my friendship, trust and later my love. I gave her all of me and she gave me all of her and our relationship lasted four years until I, the idiot in love, proposed to her. So we got married and everything was perfect. A year after Isamu was born but she started to change, she wasn't that sweet, friendly girl that I once met, she disappeared during the way and she left my son on random nannies that I didn't get to know about and the worst part of all was that I had to send a private detective after my wife, oh but she was good, the only thing that she did was spending my money all over expensive useless things. Our marriage was like this for five year, Luna neglected my son, she would almost ruin my family's business with the bills that she was getting and she was never around properly. One holy day I was in the park with Isamu and I face one of Luna's high school friends, Sumire Shouda, she asked about my life and when I told her about Luna she pitied me. Then the wonderful woman told me about everything." He paused, remembering the painful memory.

"What did she told you?" Mikan pressed.

"That Luna knew about my family's money when I arrived that school. She had told her friend about her plan for a good life, Luna was going to pretend to care about me and make me fall for her. Sumire had called her crazy and said that it was too risky and demented; Luna ended their friendship right there. Sumire tried to tell me and that ended up her being expelled with something she didn't do. I arrived home and confronted her, she started yelling at me, accusing me to be a liar and that I was inventing that because I wanted to get rid of her, of course that I went with the divorce process anyways, she threaten to take Isamu with her but I had a good layer and Sumire accepted to help me I court and because of that I won total custody over Isamu." he smiled but then it quickly faded when he finished, "But Luna promised to get her revenge."

Mikan saw how tensed he looked, it looked like he was about to punch something, "Do you see what I'm trying to say Mikan? Luna is good at planning to ruin people's lives. I know for a fact that Luna hates music, why should she date a man in the industry of music? Something is very fishy, she doesn't act on impulse…she knows what she's doing, she's going to try to take him away, she's going to-"

Mikan couldn't take it anymore; nothing could explain why she did it. Maybe she didn't like to see Natsume acting like that, he was panicking, he was stuttering, he was scared.

Mikan couldn't explain why she pressed her lips against his, ever so softly, she was hushing him. Mikan was trying to calm him down.

Natsume was stoic at first, but as soon that he felt calming down and understand what was happening he finally kissed her back, making Mikan sigh in relieve internally. She was starting to guess that kissing him might've disgust or even startle him. A sudden kiss doesn't happen every day. When Natsume slowly wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her closer she couldn't help but to smile in the kiss.

Both pulled away after some long seconds, it has been the longest seconds in their lives, they just gazed into each other eyes.

Natsume quickly forgot about his current problems for a moment during Mikan's kiss, it had felt so right and so spontaneous that surprise hit him after, it made Natsume raise a questioning brow at the brunette on this arms. Mikan's cheeks flushed a deep scarlet when she realized what in the world she just did.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" she whispered quickly, covering her mouth in shock. Mikan tried to back away from Natsume but he didn't let her.

"Don't. It's fine…thank you."

"W-Why are you thanking me?"

"I feel much calmer now…" Natsume reluctantly unwrapped his arm and gave her some space; he leaned back onto his desk and gave her a piercing stare, Mikan looked at her feet ashamed. "Why did you do that?"

"T-To calm you down…" she responded softly.

"Oh? You calm everyone down with a kiss?" he chuckled.

"No! It just…seemed like the best idea at the moment…" she slapped herself mentally.

"Why?" he smirked.

"Because you looked panicked."

"And?" he pressed.

She didn't know what to say, Mikan looked at him. Those sharp, crimson eyes were staring at her with such intensity that made her almost yelp. She felt so intimated right now, but in the good way.

Mikan could only sigh, "And I shouldn't have done it…right? I'm so sorry…I'll just call Kenshin and we'll leave." She turned around, but Natsume grabbed her wrist before she could even take a step.

"I can't let you do that, I'm afraid it's too late. You're in a mess now." He smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"If Luna is really planning something against me she might've already found out about you. And you might be part of her plan."

"If she even has one! Natsume you're not making any sense!" she chuckled.

He pulled her to him again, "I'm serious Mikan, she might do anything to you," he paused "…and even Kenshin."

Her face got dark, "That will never happen."

He almost laughed again.

She sighed, "Let's just ignore all this, pretend that it never happened and if something happens then we'll talk."

"You…want to pretend that…the kiss never happened?" he said slowly, with a frown.

"N-No the Luna article!" she quickly added.

"Oh…I don't know…" he seemed unsure, this was his son's life.

"I promise I'll help if something happens."

"You promise?" he asked hopefully.

"I promise."

* * *

**A/N: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I DID IT! I DID THIS! I DID THE THING, DID YOU SEE THE THING? I WROTE IT! :D HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Soooo, first kiss finally happened! I suck at kissing scenes :'D omg. **

**Sorry for the short chapters but my fingers start to hurt after I pass 1000+ words, it's a curse. I will never reach 3000+ words *cries***

**I hope I didn't rush anything; it's been weeks since they met and the moment was right. It was a bit cliché I know but meeeeeeeeh :3 with the drama coming I was thinking that would be good to butter y'all for it!**

**Thanks for the support!**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned!**


	23. Call me Natsume!

**November 28****th****, 6:35 PM**

**Yukihira residence**

Mikan bit her lip nervously when she evaluated her attire, or one of them. She had been trying many type of dresses for already two hours, the pile of clothing in her bed looked like mount Everest. Kenshin was sitting safely on her armchair with Aiden on his lap, he smiled at her. "That one makes you pretty too!"

She smiled and glanced at him, "Really? I'm not sure…"

"Ma, every dress makes you pretty!"

She chuckled, "Thank you…but I'm not looking for pretty."

He gave her a questioning look and she mentally cursed, how can you explain your son that you were looking for something sexy?

Two days had passed since the kiss and two days had passed since the shocking news, and everything seemed peaceful for the adult's happiness. Today was the date day and Mikan was very nervous about it…she haven't been on a proper date since…well, Kenshin's birth. She tried, but every time she mentioned her son they would run away. But today it was different, Natsume was different. Oh boy was she nervous.

"Ma?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"I like the purple one! Auntie gave it to you."

"Oh good choice honey, I might use that one!" she cheered.

He smiled and hopped from the chair receiving a grunt from Aiden, "Ma I'm going to get you some water, you look red." He said while strolling away.

She blinked in confusion and looked to the mirror, wow she did looked flushed in her cheeks. Mikan giggled to herself.

With that, she searched for that beautiful purple dress. A strapless, V-necked dress that reached her knees, it was perfect, she could only hope that Natsume would think the same. After dressing and zipping it up she twirled in front of the mirror and let out a content sigh. In a perfect timing, Kenshin walks in with a glass of water, he grins as soon he sees his mother.

"Ma you look so beautiful!"

"Thanks Shin-chan, it's because of you! Thank heavens I have a wonderful son like you~" she took in a sip on the water and watched Kenshin blush and trying to hide his wide grin.

"Geez ma…don't say those things." He covered his face.

Mikan blinked, she placed the glass on the nightstand and tackled her son with a tight hug. "YOU'RE SO CUTE! I LOVE YOU!" she squealed while rubbing her cheeks with his, Kenshin tried to run away.

Mikan stopped but she still kept embracing her son, "Is everything ready for the sleepover?"

The young boy looked excited now, "Yeah! I have my sheets, my pillow, my games, toothbrush, hairbrush and candies!"

"Good boy! Now what do we do before bed?" she asked faking a stern voice.

"We brush our teeth and comb our hair!"

"And why?"

"To not wake up with dragon breath and tangled hair." He responded with a cringe.

Mikan chuckled and kissed the top of his head, "Go get your backpack, Natsume will be here soon and mom needs to get fixed."

"But ma…you already beautiful." He said with a pout.

She stood up, "Well I still need to make…GIRL THINGS." She faked a scary voice.

With that Kenshin was long, and he didn't left his shadow.

* * *

**7:16 PM**

Kenshin opened the door after hearing the bell ring; he looked up and saw Natsume dressed a black tuxedo (without the tie/bow).

"Hullo Mr. Hyuuga!" he greeted cheerfully.

Natsume smiled, "Hey, it's dangerous to open the door without asking who it is."

"Oh." Kenshin stated, then he closed the door on Natsume face and waited.

The crimson eyed man almost laughed, he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came the boy's voice from the other side.

"Still me."

Kenshin opened the door and gave him the same smile, "Hullo Mr. Hyuuga!"

"Good evening Kenshin, may I come in?" Natsume grinned.

"Uh-uh! Ma said she'll be here in five." He said while closing the door after the man was inside.

"I see…"

Both walked to the living area and sat on the couch, the TV was on and Natsume blinked at the show that this boy was watching but he didn't get it though.

"What's this?"

"Brandy and Mr. Whiskers." He replied with a grin.

Seconds watching it, Natsume grew worried for the child, "You like this? It's so…weird."

The boy frowned, "It's funny. You should watch it."

Natsume chuckled and raised his hands in defense, "Okay okay…so are you uh, ready with your things for the sleepover?"

"Yep!"

There was a pause; Natsume felt like this was a good opportunity to say it.

"Kenshin, I wanted to thank you." He started, "You and Ran have been friends with Isamu and that makes me very happy. Isamu was never good on making friends and I'm glad he found you two. Thank you."

Kenshin looked at him surprised; he didn't know what to say. With a sigh the boy spoke, "Isamu sometimes is annoying and mean but…he's a good friend. He also has cool stuff and I can see that he's a good person…he just needs someone in his life to make him see how nice he can be and all I want is to see him smiling and be happy. Don't worry Mr. Hyuuga, I'll take care of Isamu and Ran will too! We'll have his back!" he smiled.

Natsume was taken back with Kenshin's response.

Early in that evening, he had picked up Ran first before heading to the Yukihira's, he thought he could have had this talk with her as well but the girl seemed so nervous just to be alone in the car with him that he didn't want to make her more uncomfortable.

"Mr. Hyuuga?"

Natsume frowned, "Call me Natsume."

"U-Uh?" Kenshin tilted his head.

"Mr. Hyuuga makes me feel old." He chuckled, patting the boy's head, "Call me Natsume okay?"

Kenshin stared at Natsume; he felt something that he never felt. When Natsume patted his head gently, Kenshin felt like there were sparkles around the adult, he felt warm inside, this was an unknown feeling that Kenshin longed to know. It was like he wanted to hug Natsume at the moment, when he stopped patting Kenshin felt sad, he wanted him to continue. He wanted this man to keep patting his head gently, just like his mother does.

Kenshin gasped.

"Hey you okay there?" Natsume asked a bit concerned, did he cross the line when he touched him? Was Kenshin uncomfortable? "Kenshin are you okay?"

"I'm okay Natsume, don't worry Natsume!" he grinned, exaggerating on the first name calling.

Natsume chuckled nervously, "Good. I thought I hurt you."

Kenshin giggled, "Nope!"

Kenshin thought that this had been like how Isamu felt when he saw his ma, this was so right! He was so in this plan more than ever at the moment, he couldn't wait to tell Isamu and Ran!

There was a fake couch coming from the living's entrance, both males turned and looked at the person.

Kenshin's jaw dropped, "MAMA?"

* * *

**Cliffhanger XD Sorry! **

**WOW I'M BACK! I'M SO SORRY FOR DISAPPEARING LIKE THAT BUT I NEEDED SOME TIME TO GET MY MOTIVATION AGAIN D:**

**This is the first part of "First Date/Sleepover" arc! I don't know how many chapters it will have but I can assure you that will have lots of fluff and hints of puppy love!**

**R&amp;R!**

**Thank you for the support! Oh my God, almost 200 reviews. Imma die. **

**Stay tuned!**


	24. First Date - PART 1

She was wearing an Erin Fetherston dress that was the color of purple and reached her knees, in her right wrist was three bracelets from HM, one was gold, the middle one was silver and the last black, hugging her shoulders was a Jacques Vert Bolero short white jacket. Her long silky hair was tied in a long ponytail that allowed someone to see her Paige Novick Enamel earrings. In her feet was a pair of silver Valentino sandals. Her make-up consisted on a creamy lip-gloss and a little of mascara in her lashes, the rest was natural, just like she has always been. Her hazel eyes sparkled with excitement because of Natsume and her son's reaction, she was content.

"M-Mama?" Kenshin repeated in awe.

Mikan giggled, "Hope I didn't make you wait too long…" she bit her lip and looked at Natsume.

This was a very dangerous situation for Natsume, it was the first time that he felt overwhelmed this much, he expected her to be beautiful but damn, this was more than that, she was definitely more than everything.

He finally gulped down his silence and stood up, "Mikan you look absolutely ravishing." He mentally punched himself, "I mean, stunning."

She chuckled and let out a cute flush in her cheeks, "Thank you. Shall we go?"

Kenshin nodded and grabbed his sleepover bag, "What does ravishing means?"

Mikan held her son's hand and walk to the door while Natsume followed feeling a bit guilty for awaking the boy's curiosity. Mikan eyed her son with an amused smile and spoke softly, "It's when something or someone looks _sexy_." She winked and opened the door to her grinning son.

"You did it ma!"

"No dear, you did it."

Natsume could only wonder.

* * *

The ride in Natsume's car was realized in the man trying to not stare at the 'ravishing' woman next to his seat and cause an accident, but it was becoming impossible to not simply glance sometimes. Her scent was driving him nuts, where the hell did she get that strawberry or cherry or whatever the fruit that the perfume was transpiring towards his nose, he just wanted to nibble her neck and lick it off.

_Concentrate on driving._

His thoughts tried to help him, but it was actually Kenshin saving him.

"What were Isamu and Ran-chan doing when you let, Natsume?" he asked from the backseat.

Mikan looked at Natsume with a raised brow, did her son just called him by the first name?

"He dragged her to his bedroom, saying something about a computer game." He responded.

"Oh…did she look happy about it?" he asked bemused.

"Well she looked like it, why?" he smiled for the kid's obvious jealously.

Kenshin sighed, "Ran-chan never played computer games with me, she doesn't like it." He crossed his arms and scowled to the window.

Mikan giggled, "You always wanted to play violent games darling, Ran doesn't like those kind of games."

"Then what games does she like?" he asked hopefully to his mother.

"Well," Mikan thought, "Ran-chan is an intelligent girl that knows a lots of facts, what do you think? Maybe puzzle games?"

"RPG games?" Kenshin blunted with a confused voice.

"What's that?" Natsume asked just to keep his thoughts away. Kenshin's questions were working fine.

"It's like anime…you're playing as a character. It's usually scary games but ma doesn't let me play those." Kenshin mumbled.

"Because when you watched Chucky you didn't slept for five nights straight!" she said sternly.

Natsume smirked, "You let him watch that?"

"No, he watched secretly. He disobeyed my request." She muttered not amusedly.

Kenshin seemed quiet now, almost guilty.

"But then he made me breakfast as an apology," she smiled.

"You know how to make breakfast little man?" Natsume asked.

"Of course! But…the eggs were a little burnt that time, but I make some pretty mean cereals!" he chirped.

Both Natsume and Mikan chuckled.

* * *

In the Hyuuga residence, Isamu and Ran were occupied with chasing each other with toy guns that let out shot noises like they were actually firing, the game was called 'catch the traitor', Ran was the traitor at the moment and Isamu had to catch her alive…or dead.

"Come back here!" he yelled pretending to be angry.

"Never! My sire will be very pleased with your country's plans of attack!" she tried not to giggle.

Both hopped around in the living area, jumping in the couch in a dramatic way and crawling under the coffee table. Ran quickly rolled on the carpet and shot Isamu who quickly dodge the 'bullet' by jumping behind the couch, she hid herself behind the close pillar and both caught their breaths. Their cheeks were red showing obviously that they've been playing for a while.

"You know Ran, I thought that playing Catch the traitor would be bad with a girl but you're actually good at this." He shouted.

She smiled to herself, "We'll discuss sexism after this game Isamu!"

"What's that?" he raised his brow from his hiding spot.

"Later!"

She was wearing a long white nightgown with a red lace but under the nightgown was a pink short, just in case. He was wearing his favorite Iron Man pajama set that his grandma bought last Christmas.

Ran run in the big apartment's halls and hid in a bathroom of someone's bedroom, she gasped as the loot had a giant bathtub, with quick steps she stepped inside and ducked there, clutching tightly to her gun and feeling the adrenaline rushing over her. When Isamu stopped hearing her he peeked from behind the couch and looked around, aiming his toy gun everywhere and in every corner, but no sign of Ran.

"Raaaan?" he called, but she didn't replied.

He walked inside his bedroom and circled trying to listen around him for any sign of the girl, when nothing came to him he got out of the area and walked around his house, he had to admit that the silence was a bit scary for him, but he shook away that feeling, knowing that Ran was everything but scary. Well not really but you know what I mean, she's not a monster, Isamu thought she was too cute to be a monster.

He no longer cared about the darn cooties.

Finally he entered his aunt's bedroom and heard something from her bathroom, he smirked and turned off the lights and with light steps he walked and opened the door slowly and quietly, no one seemed to be in his sight but then he saw the big tub and remembered when he himself hid from his father there when he had to go to the dentist months ago. He quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind him and approached the massive tub, not sensing his presence, Ran uncovered her mouth to breath thinking that he was gone but she was caught by surprised when he jumped on her and pinned her down, completely startling her and making her drop her weapon.

"Caught you!" he mocked with a cocky smirk.

She gasped, "N-Not fair! You scared me!"

"So what? Now tell me your country's secrets!" he forced.

"Never, I won't tell you anything!" she looked away pouting an 'Hmpf'.

"I'll kill you, I'll do it." He threatened.

She smiled sweetly, "Then kill me, I'd rather die for my country."

He tilted his head, "Really?"

"Obviously." She giggled, he looked lost.

"N-No! C'mon, beg for your life…"

"Nope. Perhaps you don't wish to kill me general…" she grinned.

He scowled down at her and blushed, "Then I'll make you my prisoner and torture you for answers."

She looked a little worried, "Uh?"

"Tickle torture." He sent her an evil smile.

Ran gulped down and embraced herself for a new kind of horror.

* * *

"Hurry up Natsume! I have a bad feeling!" Kenshin said while Natsume juggled with his keys, the man had exited the elevator with Mikan and the boy.

"Kenshin!" Mikan scowled.

"No it's fine; he just doesn't want his girlfriend taken away." Natsume teased.

"Ran-chan is _not_ my girlfriend! She has cooties, I'm just worried!" he muttered looking at his feet with a blush.

When the three of them finally walked inside they heard loud giggles coming from Isamu's room, the adults looked at each other and Kenshin immediately ran towards it in urgency, when he opened the door he let out an horror gasp, "RAN-CHAN!"

Ran was tied against Isamu's desk chair, the raven haired boy was sitting on the ground with his fingers tickling her tiny feet, she was already tearing from laughing too much and her cheeks were now more flushed in scarlet than ever.

"K-Kenshin…haha…help…" she cried with a few giggles.

Isamu stood up quickly and pointed his toy gun at him, "So, your back-up finally arrived commander? He looks like a weak crying boy." Isamu smirked.

"What the heck is going on here?" Natsume asked as he watched the scene, Mikan was next to him, looking at Ran with widen eyes.

"He kidnapped her!" Kenshin yelled in rage, he took off his bag.

"We're playing catch the traitor dad," Isamu finally looked at the adults and then in awe at Mikan, "You look beautiful!" he blunted out without thinking.

Mikan giggled and smiled warmly at him, "Thank you sweetie, I like your pajama it adorable."

He looked taken back, "It's iron man." He mumbled proudly.

"Alright Isamu, you know the drill."

He nodded, "Pizza money is on the counter, don't open the door to stranger (only the pizza person), I know your phone number and if there's any fire we have to get out of the house quickly."

"Good boy, now remember," Natsume was speaking to the three children now, "Don't destroy or break anything, go to sleep early, don't eat too much candies and brush your teeth before bed." He watched them three nodded paying all the attention.

Mikan looked at Natsume and smiled, he was such a good parent.

"Have a good date dad!" Isamu smiled.

Natsume winked at his son and looked at Mikan, "Shall we?"

She nodded and looked at Kenshin, "Behave Shin-chan, I'll miss you." She crouched down and pecked his head.

"I'll miss you too ma!" he hugged her neck and then the two parted.

When the two adults walked away and left the house Isamu pointed his gun at Kenshin again, "Ran is the commander of my enemy country and I'm the general, who are you?"

"I can be a secret agent that is here to save her!" Kenshin said happily.

"Okay, go dress your pajamas and hurry; I'm going to torture her more.

"E-Eh?! You already tickled me for ten minutes!" the girl cried in despair.

"Then Kenshin better hurry up, uh?" he smirked.

* * *

"So where are we going?" Mikan asked while Natsume drove the car on the bright streets of the city.

"I'm not telling you." He said with a hint of tease.

She pouted, "Well…I do love surprises."

He smiled, "So, do you want to drive in an awkward silence or make small conversation?"

"The weather is cold uh?" she giggled and he chuckled.

"Good choice, weather." He praised sarcastically.

She bit inside her cheeks, "Well you did said small conversation."

Both became silent after, but then Natsume remembered a topic.

"So Christmas is coming…"

"Yes! I'm so excited to see my parents again!" she chirped.

"Yeah, me too. I mean, Isamu haven't seen them since last summer."

"I'm going to spend the Christmas with them, but I'm back in time of News's eve. Hotaru always hosts a party."

Natsume 'tskd' with the mention of Hotaru but he shook it away, "You think I'm invited?" he asked with sarcasm.

Mikan didn't get it, "Well I can ask her if you want." She smiled.

He looked at her for a brief second to see if she was also joking, but her smile was so pure that he didn't had the guts to explain it to her, "Alright."

Mikan looked outside the window and saw that Natsume was leaving the loud city to the woods, she looked worriedly at him and he smirked, "No I am not driving you into a wooden house in the woods to rape you, don't worry."

She looked shocked, "I w-wasn't imagining such thing."

He chuckled, "Relax Mikan, _trust me_." He said in a velvet voice that calmed her down automatically.

He drove for at least five minutes more and Mikan noticed something from far away, she gasped and sent him a smile, "Is that…the sea?"

* * *

**A/N: This is 2.000+ new record for me I guess!**

**Part 1 of 'The first date' :D**

**I'm really sorry for the late updates *cries***

**BTW, does anyone here know how to draw? *wiggles eyebrows suggestively* **

**Always, a massive bloody thank you for the support, reviews, favorites and follows! It makes me very happy!**

**I'm also sorry for the grammatical mistakes, damn it I suck.**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned!**


	25. First Date - PART 2

**A/N: SORRY FOR ANY GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES!**

* * *

Twenty minutes after seeing the ocean, Natsume parked the car on next to a beach, no one was around. He headed out from it and quickly marched to open the door for her; she smiled at his chivalry and stepped out.

"I wonder where are you taking me, I don't see anything around here."

"Then look better Ms. Yukihira, because this is the spot." He smiled.

Natsume locked the car and guided Mikan through the wooden path between the sand, she locked her arm with his shyly and he gladly took it, they didn't talk because they didn't need to, it was a comfortable silence until the localization that Natsume was taking her into. Then she saw it, Mikan gasped when bright lights were on her sight from not so far, when they walked closer she was a small house and Mikan could hear music coming from it, when they actually got there she was approached by a man dressed in a tuxedo with a bow. He smiled politely.

"Good even Mr. Hyuuga, Ms. Yukihira. We've been expecting your arrival."

"Sorry for being late." Natsume said.

Mikan stared at them confused but always with a small smile.

"That is fine sir, please follow me."

As they followed the butler to the table Mikan couldn't help to look around in awe, she would have never discovered this small but pleasant restaurant just close by the sea, she loved the ocean. And Kenshin was exactly like her, she could never imagine that her first date in years could be in such an amazing place. They finally stopped at a table for two people close by the window, with a sight for the beach, she screamed internally with delight.

"May I have your coat madam?" the butler suddenly asked.

"O-Oh, yes, thank you." She became a little shy when the rest of her skin was uncovered and handed him her jacket. When he left Natsume pulled a chair for her and Mikan gladly sat down with an amusing smile, "Why thank you."

"You are mostly welcome madam." He joked as well.

When both sat down they stared at each other for at least thirty seconds, it wasn't awkward, Natsume couldn't just pretend to not appreciate her beauty at the moment, she looked so bright. Mikan was in the same situation, Natsume really looked sexy on his tuxedo, damn! With flushed cheeks she grabbed the menu and gasped.

"N-Natsume this is so expensive…are you sure?"

"Mikan don't worry about anything, order whatever you want." He said while looking at his menu as well.

She nodded and tried to not cringe at the prices, by Gods was the food here made on gold?!

After looking well they decided to order the _Roasted chicken with risotto and caramelized onions _for Mikan and the _Crab-stuffed filet mignon with whiskey peppercorn sauce _for Natsume, then from the wine list an Italian _Barbera D'Alba Punset_, Mikan couldn't help to request a jar of water. As they waited for their orders, Natsume was thinking on something about Mikan that he always wanted to know.

"Can I ask you something?"

She smiled, "We're on a date aren't we? Of course."

"Do you still have feelings for Reo?"

Mikan's smile faded, "Of course not. I hate him with all my guts." Then her smile returned as a scary one.

Both chuckled and she continued.

"No…I don't really hate Reo persay. He always wanted that career even before he met me so I guess it's normal for him to prefer going after his dream instead of being stuck with me and a baby."

Natsume growled. How could someone leave this woman?

"He's an idiot; he could've had a good life with you."

"Really?"

"You're a beautiful hard-working mother, I never seen a mother care so much with her child. How could Reo let go of you I will never understand that. Look at you…I have never felt so attracted to someone after Luna." He reached for her hand, "You and Kenshin became important people to me in the past weeks Mikan. And not only for me but also for Isamu, you should see him the way he talks about your son after school; he pretty much grew attached to him." Natsume paused and smirked, "Is it something that all Yukihira's have? The power to charm people?"

She chuckled and blushed embarrassedly, "You say the most sweet things Natsume, thank you."

"I'm happy you're over that idiot."

"Is that so?" she smiled.

"Yes, now it's my turn."

The orders arrived.

* * *

**8:34 PM**

"Where is he?" Kenshin whispered gripping on his toy gun.

"I don't know! Hush!" Ran whispered back while peeking in the hole from the closet.

They were still playing 'Catch the traitor' and it was discovered that Isamu was the traitor this time. Kenshin and Ran escaped and hid themselves in Natsume's massive closet but they were a little nervous because Isamu also disappeared. Ran was on guard and she gave up for a moment.

"I can't see him, we can go out." She smiled, "But you're going first."

"WHAT? Why?!"

"Well because you're the Captain this time." She said sweetly.

He pouted a little but didn't argue with her, Kenshin slowly opened the closet's door and pointed his gun at everywhere in Natsume's bedroom, he carried a serious expression and then he started to mumble an action soundtrack while he checked under the bed and in the bathroom for any signs of Isamu. When he saw no movement he waved at Ran to come and she stepped out carefully, she always walked behind Kenshin when they left the bedroom, she got his back. Ran was looking everywhere like an hawk and Kenshin was trying not to tremble much, but when the lights of the house suddenly turned off he let out a scream and ran away in panic to the closest hiding spot he could find, of course leaving Ran behind. She gulped, only the lights of the city that illuminated from the massive windows could make her see the objects ahead of her, but she noticed a lot of shadows, great for hiding.

"K-Kenshin?" she whispered to the air.

Under the table, the brunette boy facepalmed, how could he leave his Ran-chan like that?!

Unknown to them, Isamu was smirking while hiding behind the pillar of the living room, he looked around his hunting spot and saw Ran looking around, she looked a little nervous and part of Isamu felt angry for Kenshin, why did he left her in wide open? If he was the captain he would protect her. He decided to not "kill" Ran and go look for Kenshin instead, which surprisingly he didn't know where he actually was; maybe turning off the lights wasn't a good idea. Suddenly Isamu heard a soft yawn coming from his left, from the dining area. He crotched to not let be seen by Ran and with his gun on the mouth he crawled there quietly, those kids really took the game seriously.

Ran was trying not to bump into anything and trying to find the light switch, since this was her first time in Isamu's house she was having a little of trouble with it, so she decided to use her intelligence. Usually these luxury apartments have their main light switches close to the main entrance, she did know where the door was but now her worries were if Isamu was waiting for her, like a trap. No Ran was into the game as well.

Little did she know is that Isamu was actually crawling behind Kenshin, trying not to giggle evilly as he watched him.

The little girl finally reached for the switch and turned on the lights, she smiled in relieve when Isamu was still nowhere to be seen, but then she heard a loud scream that absolutely came from Kenshin.

"AH! I WIN!" Isamu shouted in victory.

"NU-UH YOU CHEATED! RAN-CHAN?" Kenshin cried, probably ready to sulk at her.

Ran sighed, and then yawned. Boy she was really sleepy.

* * *

"How's the food?" Natsume asked.

"Delicious." Mikan smiled, "Yours?"

"Good…good." He nodded.

Both continued eating in silence and that was making Natsume disappointed with himself, he was going to bore Mikan if he didn't think in something quickly.

"I hope the children are alright." She suddenly said.

He blinked, "Oh yes, I'm sure that they're sleeping already."

"Kenshin only falls asleep at eleven on weekend." She giggled.

"Isamu goes to bed early, he gets grumpy when sleepy."

"Aw, that's cute."

More silence, he sipped on his glass of wine and she chewed on her chicken.

"So Natsume, tell me about your family." Mikan suggested.

"My family?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, except for Luna of course, if that makes you uncomfortable."

"Yes, thank you. Well my father was the CEO of the Hyuuga CORP but he actually retired and became an artist, my mother is a freelance journalist so they travel a lot. My sister, Aoi, is starting her modeling career and since she's away for shooting a book I would say that is going great. You've met Isamu, my son, he likes super-heroes." He ended with a smile.

She chuckled, "You have a good family."

"Talk me about yours."

"Alright seems logic to me," she giggled, "My uncle is a high school principal and he's currently in Kyoto, my dad is a teacher on the same school where my uncle is working. My mom had a lot of jobs, but right now she just stays at home but she's forbidden to cook or bake without any supervisor because she's really bad at it. I mean…I was traumatized as a child." She said dramatically.

"Are you also a bad cooker?"

"Nope, I'm actually pretty mean in the kitchen." She smirked.

"I would like to taste one of your dishes one day then." He flirted.

"Then I'll be waiting for that day." She flirted back, but a little shyer.

He send her a smile and continued the conversation, "So, you come from an academic family…they're all related to school. And you ended up being a CEO assistant? How did that happen?"

"Actually…I'm pretty ashamed of admitting this but…I've always wanted to be a teacher like my dad. But at that time I had to take care of a baby so, I went for the job that payed most…and since Hotaru is my best friend since elementary school she just dragged me along with it and provided us a good life." She sighed.

"Imai never mentioned you, and I never thought that she could be a good person to someone AND give them her money."

"Don't judge Hotaru because she's cold, she's actually a sweet and caring woman." She snapped, "She just doesn't show it to strangers or people that don't respect her."

He nodded, "I'm sorry."

Mikan took a sip from her wine and calmed down, "N-No, I'm the one that should apologize."

"You don't need to apologize for protecting a friend, you're really loyal aren't you Mikan?" he smiled.

"I own Hotaru my life, and Kenshin's. I would die for her."

"You remind me of a close friend of mine."

She looked brighter now, "Really?"

"Yes, we also know each other since elementary and we've always been together since then. I had to protect him from bullies sometimes and he always shooed some idiots that spread rumors about me being a vampire," he stared as Mikan chocked and held her laughter, "You can laugh go ahead."

"I'm s-sorry but people actually thought you were a vampire?" she giggled.

"Not people, brats." He mumbled.

"You and that friend sound like brothers, oh I'm sorry, is your friend male?"

"Yeah, he's currently on a business trip in France. Is name is Ruka Nogi, have you heard of him?"

She shook her head, "Sorry I don't ready business magazines."

"It's fine." He chuckled.

"Hey Natsume, let's have a toast!" she suggested while raising her glass up.

"Sure, but to what?" he raised his.

"To the start of something, silly!" she giggled.

"Oh, something?" there was clear suggestion on his hoarse voice.

She flushed, "Yes, _something._"

* * *

**A/N:*dodges your daggers and glares***

**I UPDATED. **

**THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT AND REVIEWS AND AAAH LOVE YOU ALL!**

**R&amp;R for more!**

**Stay tuned!**


	26. Update!

**A/N: Hello? Is anybody here? I would like to start with 252 apologies, 97 hugs and 130 kisses. But seriously now, I am so sorry everyone I completely neglected this story without any reason. I was lazy and I lost motivation, but then there it was, I was scrolling through the stories and saw mine and as I read the reviews I felt so disappointed with myself. So I cracked my fingers and tried to reanimate this story, for you and myself, I love every reader. This is not a chapter but I promise that there's one coming soon. Tomorrow or the day after you'll see it, I cross my heart and I hope to die. **

**Again, thank you for the magnificent support!**

**-PetuniaViolet**


	27. First Date - PART 3 Final

**New chapter and new beginnings! New thing: From now on I'll reply to every review!**

**Acemya: **Here's an update, thanks for loving my story!

**Krusette: **I know how you feel and I've been disappointed with those authors as well, I promise that I won't abandon this story, thanks for reading!

**Animeandmangafangirl: **Yes, Yay XD I hope you like this chapter love!

**StarElsie: **Yeah, I'm so sorry OTL

**Kirakishou999: **And I'm happy for your happiness. If you think it's necessary to read everything again then do it, in meantime I'll be updating more chapters until you get here again :D Thanks for reading and don't be sad anymore!

**Sweet little: **Yes you, my sweetheart. I remember seeing you reviewing every chapter of mine and I'm so happy to see your kind words again! Sorry for making you wait, the story is back! :)

**Sinables: **Silent readers are also important, thanks for reading and loving my story sweetie!

**Zathiray: **Thanks for understanding and yes don't worry, I will finish this story! Love you!

**Freespirited309: **Pop up on live stream? WHAT? That makes me very nervous Hahaha! What do you mean new publicity? Please PM I wanna know! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter! xD

**A/N: SORRY FOR ANY GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES.**

* * *

The dinner continued with casual conversations, Natsume talked little about his business because he knew that Mikan wouldn't be much interested in that, she also talked small about hers, she was just a mere secretary. They talked about family, Natsume told her how much Aoi always wanted to be a model or an actress and he even mentioned that in their childhood she would always make him pretend to be a judge of her contests between her dolls.

"I would never let her win." He said.

"Oh that's mean of you." She chuckled.

"No, I wanted her to learn more. I want Aoi to train herself to be better, I just pushed her more." He said before sipping on his wine.

Mikan smiled, "You're a good brother."

He nodded and smiled back, "Well, shall we order dessert?"

Mikan's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, "Yes! There's always space for dessert right?" she giggled.

He chuckled and called the attention of the waiter, he came walking fast and with a pleasing smile he awaited Natsume's request.

"We want dessert," he said looking at the waiter, then he glanced at Mikan, "So what do you want?"

Mikan looked at the dessert menu and her eyes stared on the red velvet cake with blueberry cream. She smiled at the waiter.

"I would like the number four."

"Ah yes, the delicious red velvet cake, you have good eyes miss. And for you sir?" the waiter asked pleased.

"I'll have the strawberry cheesecake." He said with slightly flushed cheeks.

The waiter left and more came to clean their table; Mikan stared at Natsume and smiled shyly.

"You like strawberries then?"

He shrugged, "I do, but…if Aoi was here I would say that I hate them."

"Why?"

He looked at the ocean through the window and sighed, "Because she smiled a lot when eating them and I would always let her eat mine. I do the same with Isamu, so this will be our little secret alright?" he looked at her with a small smirk.

"Yes sir, don't worry." She saluted jokingly, but then she gave him a warm smile, "You're such a good brother and father Natsume, no, you're a good man. Aren't you?"

He reached for her hand and stared at her, "I'm human Mikan, they also make mistakes."

She squeezed his hand and looked softly at him, "Yes, making mistakes his human but how many have you done recently?"

He chuckled and raised his brows with his thoughts, "Well I met Luna, that was a mistake right?"

"Wrong." She shook her head, "You wouldn't have Isamu-kun. Natsume, our destiny is already written, so everything happens for a reason. That mistake gave you Isamu, and you love him right? He's not a mistake."

He smiled, "Yes, I guess you have a point. So same goes for you right? Reo was a mistake but that gave you Kenshin."

Mikan nodded, happy that he understood what she meant, "See? So don't ever say that you make mistakes, because even if you make them there's always something good that comes out of them."

The dessert came soon after their conversation and they started to eat, Mikan made a pleasing sound that made Natsume stare and remember it, this woman was going to be the end for him. First she was a kind person and now she's quoting inspirational things. He watched her eat, he notice the cream that she left uneaten on her lips, he gazed at them hungrily, she had to order something with cream didn't she? He tried to relax and eat his cheesecake, it was delicious. He was proud of his restaurant choosing, the beach part was a shot in the dark, who would've guessed that she loved the beach, her expression in her car made his chest warm, he liked that feeling.

"How's your cheesecake?" she suddenly asked.

He took a few seconds to drop his thoughts and answer, "It's good," he paused, "Do you…want to taste it?"

Her cheeks flushed in a cute way and he smirked.

_Got you._

"No thank y-you, it's your dessert."

"It's fine." He parted a little of the piece with his fork and showed it to her way, she took her time but Mikan leaned in and ate it. He smiled.

"Indirect kiss." He mumbled.

She almost chocked, "W-What?"

"That's what they call it right? Indirect kiss."

He watched amusedly as her face turned completely scarlet, but then she parted a bit of her cake and waved it at him, "N-Now you."

Ah, yes, she was going to be his death indeed.

* * *

**9:41PM**

The three children were sitting on the Kenshin's bedroom's floor. The door was closed and the only light on was from his Hulk lamp from the nightstand, it was green. They were sitting on the floor, wrapped around a giant blanket. The teeth were brushed and the hair was combed for everyone, but they decided to watch a movie before going to sleep. The choices were: Spider-Man, Tangled and Cars. They voted and Tangled won, or much of Kenshin's disapproval. Isamu didn't mind and Ran said that the songs were good so they watched it.

The scene was when Rapunzel hit Flynn on the head with the frying pan, Kenshin laughed and Ran winced. Yeah, they were having fun, but Isamu decided to lay down with his belly down to continue to watch, the others must've thought to be a good idea so they did the same. Ran was in the middle of the boys.

"I'm sleepy." Isamu yawned.

"Then sleep." Kenshin grunted, still angry from losing the game.

Ran smiled, "You can sleep Isamu and we'll tell you when the movie is over okay?"

He looked at her and gave a small smile, "Okay, thanks." He snuggled his head close to her hands and she patted his head with a friendly smile, Kenshin saw those actions and whined.

"I wanna be patted too!"

"Sure, I'll pat you too don't worry." She giggled.

He also lied his head down and waited for her to pat, so Ran had to sit down again to pat both her friend's head and after a few minutes of watching the movie by herself was when she realized that they were both sleeping.

"They must really be tired for playing…" she whispered.

With that, she grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, then she lied down between the two sleeping boys and covered themselves with her blanket, after making sure that they were all covered she rested her head and stared at Isamu, he gulped and her small cheeks flushed a little so she decided to close her eyes quickly.

And with that being said, she slowly fell asleep.

* * *

The two adults exited the beach restaurant and Mikan couldn't stop smiling, they didn't walk to the car right away, Mikan suggested that they would take off their shoes and walk a little on the sand nearby the water, he first frowned at the idea but her face just couldn't take a deny. So they left their shoes together and walked towards the water, Mikan casually held his hand and he grabbed hers almost too quickly, maybe it hasn't been a bad idea at all.

When they walked back to the car whilst holding their shoes, Natsume asked her to sit on her seat, he grabbed a towel from the trunk **(A/N: My dad always has a towel on his car's trunk just in case) **and kneeled down in front of Mikan, he cleaned the sand from her small feet slowly and then he stared at them, smoothly, he passed his fingers on her skin and Mikan shivered with his touch. He looked at her and noticed that she was watching his moves, he smiled and held her leg up, he gently whipped the rest of the sand from her foot and did the same in the other. Then he quickly cleaned his own and put on his shoes.

When he entered the car Mikan was already putting her shoes as well, he grabbed the keys from his pocket and turned on the engine. He drove out of the park and entered the woods again. Mikan looked at her lap and smiled.

"I really enjoyed the dinner and our time in the beach."

"Yeah, I liked it too." He replied.

Silence came, to stop any awkwardness she turned on the radio, Mikan noticed that it was classical music station.

"How you like classical music?" she asked interested.

"Yes, I took violin classes when I was twelve but I never got to finish them, if I could I would continue them but I'm too busy nowadays." He explained with the nostalgic memories, talking with Mikan was so easy.

"I like music, but I suck at playing it. My music teacher would always put me in the glee club instead." She giggled.

He raised a brow, "You can sing then?"

"In the shower, never in public." She quickly said with a nervous chuckle.

"I see."

There was a pause between them, both were thinking about the whole situation. While Natsume drove he felt a few glances coming from the brunette, he smiled inside. She was really something. Since Luna he never thought that he would ever care about another woman romantically and even though it's only been a few weeks since they met, he cared about her, he liked her. When Mikan kissed him when he was about to panic about Luna it did indeed calmed him down, it made him forget about everything bad for those seconds. She was in his life now, what he said was true, Luna might use Reo against Mikan, even if the two don't know each other. He gripped on the wheel and scowled to the road, Mikan seemed to notice, she took his available hand.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded, "I was just thinking about our kiss."

Her cheeks flushed a little and she smiled nervously, "Yeah? What about it?"

"I was wondering if I'm going to get a second one."

She blinked and looked at her lap shyly, "M-Maybe…"

He squeezed her hand, "I'm joking, no pressure."

Ten minutes later the car parked in front of Natsume's building, they exited the car and walked inside it, in the elevator Natsume tried his best not to kiss her, he decided to go easy and slowly to not scare her in any way. Both were kinda curious to know about the children as well, when Natsume unlocked the door silence welcomed them; they looked at each other and smiled.

"Well at least nothing is upside down." He said while taking off his coat.

She nodded and did the same, both walked together to Kenshin's bedroom and slowly peeked inside, a green faint light was on and three children cuddling together on the floor.

"They could've slept in the bed." Natsume sighed, "It's big enough for the three, right?"

"Maybe they fell asleep without noticing, poor things must have been tired." She chuckled softly after closing the door again.

He looked at her and noticed that from now on, they would be alone for the night. He watched her walk alone to the living area and look outside the windows, her the lights from outside showed her elegant body, her dress was really tight uh? He sighed and approached the woman, he stayed in a certain distant, for personal space.

"It's beautiful, this view…" she sighed contently.

He approached and stood next to her, also watching outside. "Yeah, it's one of the reasons why I bought this place. At night it's always nice to stare outside with a glass of whisky, just with my thoughts you know?"

She looked at him, "Yes, I know how you feel." She said almost as a whisper.

He looked at her and both gazed into each other, he leaned and they kissed again, but it was a soft kiss. Like they knew it was going to happen, Natsume pulled her close like the other time but this wasn't and accidental kiss.

This kiss was meant to happen.

* * *

**A/N: AAAAAAAND BOOM. It's back, there you have it.**

**Be prepared to have recent uploads from now on! By the way, this is not a cliché story and I know that Natsume is being way out of character, but I you read my story you would know why. Thanks for reading!**

**Stay tuned!**


	28. The morning after!

**A/N: I have made two mistakes people, but nobody is perfect. In the last chapter I mentioned that it was Kenshin's room but no, it's in Isamu's bedroom and Isamu isn't eight years old, he's seven. I know that in the first chapter it says that he's eight but he's not, he's turning eight soon so I guess it's a bit confusing. He got in school late because of his birthday. That is all. **

**Also, I know that the Andou family hasn't come around more often but don't worry about it guys, they will make their appearance pretty soon. **

**Now to the reviews!**

**AiramEnayle: **That's a curious though of yours, I never really did wanted the three to be like Natsume, Mikan and Ruka but your theory was pretty cool. About that, who knows? Maybe Reo is oblivious of everything, maybe Reo isn't bad. Or maybe he is, who knows? Read to find out! One thing is for sure, you my friend made me laugh because you got part of my plot correct. XD

**Kaneki-senpai: **I LOVE READERS LIKE YOU SWEETIE. Please keep being one and don't forget that you're special to me!

**EchizenRyoma: **Yeeeeeah, sorry buuuut it would be kinda boring if there would be only fluff and happiness.

**Hayee: **Don't worry I won't, thanks for reading!

**Pretty-awesome-girl11d7: **BOOM. Here's an update :D

**Ciltiam: **Yeah thanks for understanding darlin'! Yes, I will never let go of this ball because I have such lovely readers to support me, thanks!

**Chiyoko-san: **Thank you! *hugs* Reading such kind words makes me happy and more motivated!~

**Distan33: **Thanks for liking them, although I use my cousins as models. Oh because I didn't even thought about it, I just typed two random Disney movie names. Hahaha!

**ApatheticEyes: **Yes you were the one who enlighten me about it, it was a clear mistake from this silly author! Thanks a bunch for pointing that out I was able to "correct" that mistake! *hugs tightly*

**Cute Tangerine204: **Ran ain't got her eyes on anyone; she's too young for that uh? Buuuut I gotta admit that sometimes I do it on purpose. Who knows? I have no idea who will date who in the future, think Ran as the motherly figure on the group kay? :D

**ChubbyMushroom: **(I like your name) Hah, thanks for wasting two hours on my story love OTL OH and I've been reading your story too, when are you updating? PM me :D

**AngelKitty27: **I LOVE YOU FOR LOVING MY STORY HERE'S AN UPDATE!

**Dongnghi: **I'll keep writing it and I will only stop when it's finished! Thanks for reading sweetie!

**Chiyoko-san(2): **Not too fast uhm? *sweats nervously*You better prepare yourself on what you're about to read. XD Ops. And yes, Kenshin doesn't approve of Ran treating Isamu better than him, it's a jealously when a brother doesn't like to share his toy with a friend, even though that Ran's not a toy, I hope you get it!

**BrimstoneButterfly: **(I like your name) Yeees, another beautiful silent reader 3 It's funny because sometimes I'm also one. And thank you for your beautiful review as well, I feel kinda guilty because of readers like you, because you guys are the ones that make the story, readers are the author's motivation, either if they're silent or public they make the author happy. So thanks for praying and checking for any updates! Thanks for liking my characters, even if they're OOC and thank you for liking the children as well, they are a bit hard to write sometimes because I have to imagine what a seven year old would act and respond. Here's an update especially for readers like you, I hope to read more reviews from you, sweetie! :)

**YellowM24: **It doesn't matter how long you take to review, just seeing it makes me happy! I hope your life is doing well and I'm glad you liked that part!

**I LOVE ANY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. **

**YES EVEN YOU, CUTIE SILENT READER.**

**IT'S OKAY IF YOU DON'T REVIEW, JUST READING MY STORY MAKES ME FEEL IMPORTANT. **

**AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I HAVEN'T GOT ANY HATE YET AND THAT MAKES ME REALLY CONFIDENT. **

**IF YOU WANNA HELP USE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, DON'T BE A RUDE STINKY BUTT :D**

**A/N: Sorry about the caps and any grammatical mistakes!**

* * *

**November 29****th****, Saturday**

**10:34AM**

Mikan slowly opened her eyes to a dark room, she was comfortable under the warm sheets and whatever was hugging her, she doesn't remember seeing Kenshin sneaking to her room, maybe a nightmare?

_No._

She slowly realized that this bed was too big to be hers, slowly and not sharply she concentrated and felt like she was being spooned from someone and the other thing that she noticed was that she was only wearing a t-shirt.

_Oh my God._

She tried to remember what happened in the night before. The date with Natsume, yes of course she was panicking for nothing. She recalled when they arrived to his home and when they checked on the children, then they kissed nearby the window and continued their date into the couch. The two adults made out a little and Natsume was able to stop before something else happened. After that both agreed that it would be better for Mikan to sleep or the night as well, Natsume offered Aoi's bedroom for her and she gladly accepted. Mikan took a shower and when she when was about to sleep, Natsume asked if she wanted a glass of whisky, turns out that it was too strong and after three sips she was drunk. Natsume however, was used to strong liquor so he tried to help her back to his sister's room, and from that point it's darkness for Mikan.

She slowly turned around and Natsume's arms hugged her even more, he made a complaining sound and she almost giggled at it. Then she took a close look at his face, he looked so peaceful when sleeping, the man almost looked like a child. His breathing was soundly and so peaceful but she noticed the tired marks under his closed eyes, the brunette's eyes descended to his neck and they continued to his chest. He was indeed bare-chested but looking down even more she saw pajama pants, which was kinda of a relive to her but somehow it made her disappointed. So maybe nothing happened last night, but she still wasn't sure and Mikan didn't want to wake him up, he looked so tired that it would ashamed her. She tried to get away from her possessive arms around her body but that was impossible, one move and he would probably wake up for sure.

So she stared at the ceiling and then at the long grey curtains covering the giant windows of his bedroom blocking the view of other buildings. She could hear the city noise because it was so quiet around her, Mikan took another glance towards Natsume and she was surprised that he was staring right back at her, they gazed into each other until he leaned down to press a soft peck on her lips.

"Good morning." He said in a husky voice.

Her cheeks flushed a little but she smiled and rested a little closer to him, feeling slightly confident and less shy, "Morning, I didn't want to wake you up…" she hinted like she was apologizing.

He yawned and smelled her hair, "I was already awake, just curious about what you were doing." He smiled and held one of her curls in his finger, "How do you feel?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

He looked at her to see if she wasn't joking and when it was clear that she was honestly confused he let out a chuckle.

"You really don't remember what happened?"

She shook her head nervously.

"Well, after getting drunk I tried to carry you back to my sister's bed but then you threw up on me, I was worried that you would do that again and choke on your own vomit so I changed clothes and stripped yours, then I placed one of my t-shirts on you and lied you down under my sheets, after making sure you were in a good position I slept as well." He paused and stared at Mikan's shocked and scarlet expression, "Don't worry I adverted my eyes the whole time and I didn't do anything weird, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have invited you for something you can't handle."

Mikan had it; she was too embarrassed to even listen more. She quickly covered herself with the sheets until and head and covered her face with her palms. She wanted to scream and hit herself.

_I puked on him! I seriously threw up on the man that I like. I totally must've ruined any mood that it was set at that time and I can't even remember anything about it, I must have made a stupid figure of myself last night. I should've denied the drink but I wanted to talk with him more. I'm such an idiot!_

Mikan's thoughts kept flowing in her mind and Natsume was able to dive under the sheets and stare at the hands that covered her red face. He felt a bit guilty for making her feel like that, he knew that she would not react goodly when she showed no memory at all but honestly he should have expected this reaction, she was cute after all and from what she confessed, this was the first time in a long time that she has been with a man so maybe he could have take it more easy and let her sleep in Aoi's bed, but on the other side she could have indeed choked on her own vomit, he saw that happening on TV and he remembered tha the show always tells the viewers what to do in those situations. He was worried, only that, he never wished to make her uncomfortable. Perhaps changing the subject would be better.

"Are you hungry? I can make us breakfast. Maybe the kids are already up."

She peeked at him and nodded, they both sat on the bed and Mikan couldn't help to stretch her arms and yawn, he watched with a ghost smile and uncovered himself, then he moved towards his window and when he pressed a button the grey curtains slowly moved up, letting the light of the grey sky fill completely the bedroom. The windows were wet and Mikan shivered, it's been raining and it was probably cold outside, and she was only wearing an over-sized t-shirt. She only noticed that this shirt was Natsume's, when he disappeared into his bathroom she took an opportunity to smell the scent of the piece of cloth and it smelled fresh with a touch of Natsume.

"If you wanna take a shower your free to use Aoi's bathroom again." He shouted from his.

"O-Okay, I'm gonna check on the kids first alright?" she shouted back, uncovering herself.

When she was about to open the door steps were heard behind her, Mikan looked at Natsume curiously and her eyes widened, he was only wearing a towel wrapped around his waist. He was also smirking with her reaction but his intention was to give her a piece of pants or her to cover them legs, now that he could see her well, she really had good thighs.

"It's too cold for you to be wondering around like that, how do you think the kids would react?" he chuckled and he pulled some of his pajama pants, when he threw them at her she barely caught them because of how nervous and embarrassed she was.

"T-Thanks." She smiled.

He nodded and walked back to his shower, finally closing the door. She socked her own head and quickly dressed the darn pants on, she was acting so stupid right now that she just wanted to dig a hole and stuck her head in it. After cursing mentally she left his room and was surprised with the darkness of the house, she looked at the massive curtains covering the windows where she shared the kiss with him and a smile of memories of that night corrupted her lips. She imitated Natsume's actions and pressed a button nearby the curtains, when they moved up automatically she patted herself in the back and walked towards Isamu's bedroom.

She heard soft breathing coming from inside, Mikan closed the door softly again and walked towards Aoi's bedroom. After undressing herself and making sure that there were any towels she entered the shower and started to do her business. She was glad that Aoi had a nice set of shampoo but she felt bad for using them, she made a mental note on buying more shampoo for her.

Meanwhile, Natsume exited his shower and walked to his laundry room, he checked on her clothes and took them out of the dryer, he carried them to Aoi's room and stared at the bathroom door, he made sure that she was still inside when he left the clothes on Aoi's bed and left the room before he would do something that he could regret later. He dressed up himself, casually. Just jeans and a t-shirt will do. He placed his wristwatch and frowned at the time.

**11:12AM**

It was getting late and the children would miss breakfast. He walked towards Isamu's bedroom and opened the door quietly, there were some movements and when he moved the curtains of the window he smirked to himself. He almost felt bad for the little girl; she was between two clingy boys that hugged her. Natsume looked at his son and rubbed his chin, who would've thought that he would become so attached to these two children? In the other school he was quiet and he never brought friends home for sleepovers or just to play, but suddenly in this school, in less than three weeks he already had two close friends. Natsume was somehow a judgmental man and he knew that Kenshin and Ran would be good for Isamu's life.

He watched as Isamu sighed in his sleep and sunk his face on the girl's neck, she was lying in a position where she faced the ceiling, and then he watched as Mikan's boy snuggled closer to her arm while sucking on his thumb. Heh, Natsume grabbed the phone from his pocket and took a moment to take a photo and send to his mother and sister. They were constantly nagging him about Isamu's life so this was a good moment to make them happy.

And for some reason, his heart also warmed to the scene.

* * *

**A/N: Done and wrapped! Now to the weekend of romance and fluff :D But I'm warning you, it ain't gonna last.**

**R&amp;R Please!**

**Stay tuned!**


	29. Hickey! (ImSorry)

**A/N: I just wanna warn everyone that my keyboard is drunk and he sometimes forgets to type the words that I want. When I notice I'm able to correct it but sometimes I can't.**

**Reviews:**

**Zathiray: **Thanks, of course I'll keep writing :D

**AiramEnayle: **Yeah I know how you feel, I like realistic relationships and for once I wanted to write a different Natsume, but he's only like this because of the changes of his life, like I explained, he fell in love and he's a father now, I don't think that Natsume would keep his personality in the manga after all that. I know he's OOC but this is my story so my rules right? And btw, STOP GUESSING THE FUTURE YOU—GAAAH XD

**Krusette: **I wanted everyone to think that they did it, but it's a bit early right? xD Don't worry, they will do it eventually. Pfffffffffft *pervyface*

**StarElsie: **Which scene are you talking about sweetie?

**Abiya Stephen: **Thanks I try! Here's an update! :D

**MitsukaiYuki: **Thanks, Hahaha yeah kinda that ^^

**Sweet little: **Keanu? You mean Isamu sweetie? XD Thanks for liking my brats and for the review!

**Sinables: **Thanks for the review and about your question, I can't answer for sure because even I don't know about it! Pay attention to the hints and then continue reading for you to find out. For now, none of the kids will be dating they're too young. :)

**Guest: **Yep, Luna will pop up anytime soon and keep reading to find out *winks* Thanks for the review!

**Pretty-awesome-girl11d7: **Thank you~! *hugs and spins*

**Guest(2): **Thanks for finally reviewing cutiepie! Sorry for scaring you though, I'm really sorry about that! I promise that I will never abandon this story again! :D

**BrimstoneButterfly (2): **YES, I know right? When a story is going well for too long it just becomes boring and repeated. A little drama doesn't hurt right? I'm happy that you like my children scenes and it makes me so honored that they're able to touch you, it's exactly like I wanted because I want the readers to have a connection with my characters, if they're in danger, sad, happy or angry I want them to see and understand how can a 7/8 year old child thinks. I'll keep writing until the end and I'm super glad to have readers like you liking my story. And by the way, it's the second time that I had to make two parts for your review XD

**Guest (PZ): **Hello silent reader! Yes I know that sometimes I make grammatical mistakes there's a warning in every beginning of a chapter because of that but thanks for telling me! About the timeline or the days, I'm not writing along with the real days and hours in each every day tha would be kinda hard for me, this is fanfiction I could write it in any timeline. :) Thanks for liking my children and actually my bakery course is already done, I'm a baker now :D Thanks PZ! And btw, I don't think that my fic is the best of the fandom, I've read much better stories but thanks for the love anyway!

**Dist33: **Thanks for the review and yeah, I thought about that a lot and it seemed funny to me as well XD

**Chiyoko-san: **Aaww you're review made me smile so much, it's adorable! I'm happy that you also enjoyed that scene, I thought about it well before writing it! I'm also glad that you fell in love with my Natsume (even though he's Mikan's XD) and yes, don't worry I prepared a romantic and fluffy weekend because honestly, it's going to be the calm before the storm. D: Anyway, thanks for reviewing love!

**A/N: SORRY FOR ANY GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES!**

* * *

Mikan walked out from the shower and wrapped the chosen towel around her body, she looked at the giant mirror in front of her and raised a brow, he stepped closer towards it and covered her mouth to silent her gasp. Her collarbone had a red circle marking the skin, a mark. A bug bite? No, that wasn't a bug bite… that was a hickey. Mikan had a hickey!

"Oh sweet fudging fudge!" she said to herself.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember how and when Natsume did give the hickey, because he's the only one that could've done that.

_**Flashback**_

_Natsume pressed himself closer to her and deepened the kiss, Mikan found herself pinned against the massive window, she felt the cold glass on her back. The brunette reached for his hair and gripped on it while kissing Natsume, he let out a silent growl and picked her up. Mikan immediately wrapped her legs around his torso and let him carry her towards the couch behind them. Natsume stopped kissing her lips and planted trails of wet ones throughout Mikan's neck, she couldn't help to let out a small moan, it felt so good and it has been a long time since a man touched her like that. Natsume gently lied her on the couch and unbuttoned his shirt, he smirked when Mikan's cheeks flushed even more while she stared at his chest. He crawled on top of her and one of his hands cupped her cheek, he stared intensely at her and she stared back with loving eyes. _

"_We don't have to go all the way." He whispered._

_She smiled warmly and kissed his hand, "Come here."_

_And he did, he kissed her again. But this time he kissed her hungrily, he licked her bottom lip, asking for entrance and Mikan closed her eyes before allowing it. Their tongues danced and Natsume groaned when Mikan placed her hands on his back, she was holding so tight that she scratched him. Mikan tried to be quiet, but she couldn't hold her moans if it felt good, Natsume was a great kisser. _

_He stopped kissing her and moved towards her ear, he pulled her hair from it and nibbled on her earlobe, she yelped in surprised and bit her lip to hold any more sounds. Natsume smugly chuckled making her shiver from how husky and warm that felt, he was doing that on purpose. He knew that she hasn't done this in a while. Mikan watched silently as he pressed wet kisses on her neck and then she gulped when he slide her dress down to her waist._

_He looked at her, "Mikan? I need an answer." _

_She looked at him in surprise. Why would he need to ask? She was so vulnerable at the moment that he could do anything to her, and Mikan would like it. But…she thought better. Would she feel good in the morning? Would it really be a good idea to have sex right in the first date? No…no it would be a little reckless of her. Mikan smiled at him, Natsume was such a gentle soul, he knew that she wasn't ready yet. She wanted to be ready but now, she wasn't. And Mikan was glad for letting her think._

"_Let's just…take it slow? I feel like, I'm not ready yet Natsume." She explained shyly._

_He smiled and nodded, "I understand. It's alright Mikan; I want you to feel comfortable." _

_She sighed happily._

"_But, now, I want to kiss you. Can we continue?" he smirked._

_She blinked and smiled nervously, "Y-Yes, of course."_

_His lips fell on her collarbone and Mikan felt like he was sucking the skin, she didn't mind it._

_It felt too good to even mind._

_**End of flashback**_

Mikan chuckled to herself after that memory dear lord was she more forgetful since she met him. When Mikan exited the bathroom and tilted her head when she spotted her dress and underwear on Aoi's bed.

"Oh." She said pleasantly while picking them, she couldn't help to smell the clothes and wow, lemon. Natsume washed her clothes? It made her sit down on the bed and lay down to stare at the ceiling. She knew that slowly, she was falling in love with him.

* * *

Isamu slowly opened his crimson eyes and the after yawning the first thing that he was hair, soft and apple scented hair. He smiled and snuggled closer to whoever he was hugging. He heard a forced cough somewhere and curious, he raised his head towards that person. He saw his dad staring at him with crossed arms, obviously trying to hold a large smile.

"Slept well kid? I bet your _pillow_ helped a lot." he asked with a mocking tone.

At first he didn't why his dad pressed so much on the word 'pillow' but when he looked down, he saw Ran's face **very** close to his. With a surprised yelp, he jumped away from the girl, causing her to get startled and wake up Kenshin as well.

"Whaa? Mfff-ma!" the brunette boy exclaimed, half sleeping.

Natsume chuckled; at least they were all up now.

"Good morning children, you all slept well?"

Ran looked at Isamu for a while and he avoided her stare, then she smiled at Natsume and nodded.

"I had a good sleep."

Kenshin was finishing rubbing his eyes, "W-Where's ma?"

All of their hairs were messy that Natsume couldn't stop staring.

"She's was taking a shower, are you kids hungry?"

"Yeah!" they all replied.

"Good, dress up because we're going out for brunch."

* * *

Isamu was wearing black skinny trousers and chocolate colored sweat shirt. Kenshin was wearing a pair of jeans with a red colored hoodie with 'Avengers' written on the chest. Ran was wearing a pink tailored skirt with white thick leggings and then on top she wore a pink polka dotted sweatshirt.

Mikan headed out from Aoi's bedroom dressed like she was last night and she smiled when Kenshin tackled her for a hug, she hugged back and Natsume watched them with a ghost smile.

"Now, we have to pass by Mikan's house first because…" he looked down and up at her and smirked, "We can't have her be dressed like that for brunch right? She would attract a lot of attention and she would be too fancy, right?"

"Yes…" Isamu and Ran said, Kenshin nodded and Mikan flushed a bit. Then a mysterious growl came from Isamu's belly. Everyone looked at him and he stared at his shoes embarrassed. Mikan smiled fondly at him.

"We better hurry then."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for any grammatical mistakes! And also, sorry for the short chapter, next one will be longer!**

**By the way, I never wrote lemon before and I can see that I would probably suck at it. I'm sorry for the cringy flashback!**

**R&amp;R!**

**Stay tuned! **


	30. A Long Saturday!

**A/N: I'm sorry for the last chapter. Also:**

**I CAN'T BELIEVE I REACHED 300+ REVIEWS!? HOLY CRAP GUYS I'M SO HAPPY! LONG CHAPTER FOR EVERYONE :D THANK YOU SO MUCH! Also, I never in my stories reached to the chapter 30, this is officially the longest story that I have ever written and it's all thanks for my beautiful readers' motivation, yes! YOU! I love you! Even if you never review, I love you! Thanks for wasting your time reading my story! ^^ **

**Reviews:**

**Sinables: **Updated, hope you like this chapter! ^^

**Sweet little: **Hahahaha! It's alright sweetie, I think almost everyone has problems with the auto correct, even I have sometimes! Don't worry no harm done!

**AiramEnayle: **Yeah, Mr. Possessive marked her as his XD. And yes, there will be a family vacation but that's like waaaaaaaaaaaaay in the future chapters. I need to end this story for that ^^ because I'm planning on carrying this story until the kids get to high school. :) Or maybe even more beyond. And oh yes, expect the unexpected! This ain't a cliché story sweetie. Do prepare yourself for some feels while you're at it OTL *is gonna hate herself for doing it*

**BrimstoneButterfly: **The flashback was like a filler to me, that's how disappointed I am in it. But thanks for the lovely words! YES, I'm so sorry and don't worry, this big chapter is my way to apologize to my readers AND to celebrate the 300+ reviews, can you believe in that?! About the clothes, I found a perfect site to describe clothes so from now on it will be easier for me and for you to picture it on your mind :D Don't worry, Isamu is indeed cute. I wish I could draw because I would turn my story into a manga *sigh* Oh and don't worry, I love reviews! You can review how much you want because it shows me how much a reader cares. *hugs* Thanks for reviewing!

**AnimeMango: **It wasn't that romantic but thanks anyway! I hope you enjoy this chapter! ^^

**Pretty-awesome-girl11d7: **I know I'm so sorry for that chapter, here's a big one as my apology! I hope you like it!

**Krusette: **Thanks for the kind words dearie! And yeah, I can't tell you who exactly I going to ruin to fluff but the happy "family" is definitely going to be broken, pretty soon actually.

**StarElsie: **Aaww thanks but it was. I know it was. But thank you oh my goodness. *hugs*

**Guest: **Yep, unfortunately it won't be happy for a long time. Thanks for reviewing! :)

**AMIRA YEAAAH: **ZE UPDATE IS HERE XD

**Kuroneko-san: **Thank you for the lovely review. Yes, I know and I'm planning to make them show, I promise. I just want these first chapters to center around the two families first. The Andou family will appear and they will have a big thing towards my characters. Ruka will eventually come back from France and Hotaru will start to make more appearances because of the future events. I hope you enjoy this special chapter! :)

**Honki no Shika: **Honestly I did notice that mistake, I was really upset with it but I eventually forgot to correct it because nobody seemed to notice. You are absolutely right, thanks for noticing and correcting it! And she was mad because it was a sudden question that shocked her, besides I kinda agreed with you. Chapter 13 was written a long time ago and until this chapter, I've improved the character's sentiments and personalities a bit more. Sorry if I confused you with her sudden change in humor!

**ApatheticEyes: **Haha yes, the relationship that I want for them is a realistic one. Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the chapter! ^^

**YellowM24: **Thanks and yeah, I actually wanted to add that but somehow I forgot *crais hard*

**ZoyaTakagi: **Thanks for loving my character Ran is also one of my favorites. ^^

**A/N: Now to the story! Sorry for any grammatical or dumb mistakes that my brain decides to make and miss!**

**By the way, I have everything planned until chapter 42 for now! So it's going to be easier for me to write what I want without forgetting, because this time I wrote it down.**

* * *

_**Meanwhile in France, Paris**_

_**Ruka's apartment**_

**4:34AM (In Japan it's 11:45AM)**

Ruka Nogi couldn't sleep, he's been in another boring and stressful meeting hours ago but at least everything was done. Ruka could now go back to Japan and see his friends. He really missed Natsume and Isamu, they were his family there and he could always act like himself around them. Ruka absolutely hated being a business man, he always wanted to be a veterinarian but after his father's death five years ago he had no choice but to help his mother in the business. Animals have always been Ruka's true passion, he loved animals, he was vegetarian and since little, the dream of helping animals has been stuck on his mind. His first pet was a white rabbit; he received it when he was nine years old, a year later after he moved to Japan. He decided to call it 'Usagi' which is the word for rabbit in Japanese. He cherished, loved and cared for Usagi during eight years and when it passed away it broke his heart immensely, luckily Natsume was there to help him mourn, because even his best friend had grown a sentiment towards the furry little thing.

Ruka turned to the other side of his bed and saw the Torre Eifel brightly shining not so far away, a true beautiful view of Paris.

Then strangely, he recalled when Natsume told him that he had met a woman, Mikan. Since that call, he has been thinking about it a lot. Ruka was about to turn thirty-years old next year and he was single. He ought to find a woman but he has been busy these past months, hell, he doesn't even remember last time he chatted with a woman for other none than business. The last relationship that he had was in college, he was twenty-two years old and it lasted for at least seven months. Ruka chuckled to himself with those memories. He remembered how Natsume despised her.

Ruka has been single for seven years.

He sighed and moved his body directly to the ceiling, his tired blue eyes closed and a soft sigh escaped through his lips. He decided that he would stay in Paris for another couple of days, not for business, but for a vacation.

And if he gets lucky, meet a woman.

* * *

_**Japan**_

_**Hotaru's apartment**_

**11:49AM**

Hotaru Imai yawned as she turned her body to the other side of her bed, finally, a day where she could just rest and do nothing. And since Mikan was far too busy with her new boyfriend Hotaru knew that her best friend wouldn't bother her. Hotaru loved Mikan and Kenshin dearly, they were her family and very important people in her life, Hotaru would do anything to protect and help them. Seven years ago, when Mikan told her that she was pregnant and that Reo chose his singing career instead of his pregnant girlfriend, she swore to avenge her friend and support her in everything, Hotaru didn't care how much she would spend, money was something that she had in billions.

Truth to be told, Hotaru depended and needed Mikan in her life. Since the brunette came, Hotaru knew what happiness was. Her childhood consisted on being always alone in a big house and when she met Mikan she was no longer alone, she was happy. And Mikan didn't seem to be intimidated by her personality. Mikan Yukihira accepted her and comprehended her in a way that nobody could.

Hotaru wasn't lonely, but at the same time she was. Though admitting that she hated those cliché romantic movies for teenage girls she missed being loved by a man. A man that isn't scared of her personality, she wanted a male version of Mikan. If that doesn't sound weird of course, Hotaru never told Mikan how much she wanted to go back to dating, she was too proud to admit it. But it's been four years since her last date, it didn't go too well, after the guy saw how Hotaru was he pretended to go to the restaurant's restroom and escaped through the window, Hotaru never saw him again and she really didn't care about it, he was a loser.

Hotaru never had a real boyfriend. Her dates never passed through the second ones and if they did, the guy was only interested in one thing from her and that Hotaru would never give to any guy, only the one that would deserve it.

That's right, Hotaru's a virgin. And she's proud of it.

She sat down in her king-sized bed and looked around, silence overwhelmed her and with a deep sigh she left her sheets and walked inside the bathroom attached to her master-bedroom. She looked herself in the mirror and tilted her head. She wasn't ugly, she was beautiful. Finding a guy was no problem, it would be easy. She has men courting her for her looks before, all of them turned down.

She smirked.

What was she thinking? She almost hurt herself thinking about unnecessary things. She did not need a man, she was independent and very rich, she was happy and loved. So what if she would never find a guy? So what if she never gets married? So what if she says a virgin until she dies? And so what if she never finds love? Those things would only waste her time and she was a very busy woman, she had a company to run and employees to pay.

Hotaru Imai wouldn't care if she never found love in this life.

Or would she?

* * *

**11:54AM**

A black Volvo v60 parked in front of Mikan's apartment building, after she exited and changed into a pair of tight jeans and a pink pale skirted duffle coat. When she entered the car again Natsume complimented her clothes and she smiled. Kenshin and Isamu glanced at each other happily. When Natsume started to drive again the children talked in the back, their topic of conversation was about the school's Christmas party that is going to happen on the last day before the vacation. Every class was holding a booth and the fourth and fifth graders were going to have a school play, also there was also a talent show and the winner gets to have a small concert in the end of the party. Mikan eventually asked if any of them was going to be on the show but they denied it, Kenshin said that it was lame and Nana always wins because she's the only one that actually has a talent, which is playing the violin.

When Natsume finally found a good café a heavy rain suddenly started to drop, Kenshin squealed and laughed and Mikan gulped. What a great timing. When he parked the car and turned off the engineer he turned around to the children.

"On three, we run inside the restaurant okay?"

They nodded and Isamu along with Kenshin gripped on the door, ready to open it. Natsume gave Mikan a look and she nodded, doing the same and understanding what she needed to do. Natsume counted, and when he said three everyone escaped from the car into the rain, Ran was the last one to exit because she was sitting on the middle and when she closed the door Natsume immediately locked the car. When five entered the building there were only semi wet, but Kenshin couldn't help to shake his head to wipe away some of the water on his hair, he received a disapproving look from Mikan and he quickly smiled apologetic. Isamu just rolled his eyes.

"Alright, let's get a table and eat something." Natsume said while looking around.

The café wasn't much big and it had a cute décor, there were tables for big families close to the windows and in the middle there were tables for couples or for four. At least there was only two tables with people, so the place was kinda deserted, which made Natsume in a good mood, he hated crowed places. The children decided to seat on the big tables with sofas next to the windows, Kenshin quickly sat next to window and stared outside with a big grin, Ran sat in the middle again and Isamu sat in the tip. Natsume and Mikan shared the sofa of the other side of the table. When they all read the menu the waitress came and took their orders and while they waited the adults started to chat with the children about what do they wanted to do for the rest of the day.

"Oh Oh! Can we go to the zoo?" Kenshin suggested happily.

"Kenshin, it's raining. Not a good idea." Mikan sighed.

He frowned.

Everyone thought silently, Ran looked unsure but she spoke anyway.

"W-We could go to the aquarium…"

Kenshin and Isamu looked at her, then their faces lit up because they found her idea to be a good one.

"Yes, the aquarium! Ma remembered the big sharks?" Kenshin giggled.

"Oh yes, it scared us didn't it?" She chuckled, "It's been almost two years since we've went to the aquarium right?"

Natsume noticed the hidden excitement on Isamu's face when he heard Kenshin and Mikan talk. He never took his soon to see to the aquarium, he felt a bit guilty. So this was a huge opportunity.

"Good idea Ran, so that's settle, after we eat we'll go to the aquarium." He smiled at the little girl, who smiled back shyly.

"YAY! We gonna se the fishes!" Kenshin cheered.

"Is there really sharks in there?" Isamu asked Kenshin innocently.

"Yup! And penguins and also, also big ugly and scary fishes!" the boy explained excitedly.

Isamu was now happy for the rest of the day, his dad has been always busy with his work to go to the aquarium and now he could even go with Mikan and Kenshin! Oh and Ran, she made everything even better. Isamu found himself very attached to the little girl. Kenshin doesn't know about it but Isamu woke up in the middle of the night and he was afraid to go to the bathroom because it was too dark, he woke up Ran and she gladly went with him. She stayed outside and waited, and thanks to her bravery she was not afraid during those minutes, when Isamu finished his business and washed his hands together they went back to bed. Isamu actually offered Ran to sleep in his bed but she denied, saying that she was comfortable sleeping between the boys. So they lied down and slowly drifted into sleep with a comfortable silence between them.

When the food arrived everyone was slightly happier, because they were all hungry.

Natsume had ordered a smoked salmon baguette with lemon juice and cheese cream and then he ordered coffee with two sugars just to wake up. Mikan decided to order a frittata and Kenshin thought to be a good idea to eat that as well, she ordered a latte as her drink and he ordered orange juice with a mix of banana. Isamu wanted to eat a slice of spinach and ham quiche and he asked for apple juice for his drink. And Ran chose a turkey and cheese omelet with peach tea.

They ate quietly because they were enjoying the food, Kenshin was the first to eat the whole food in his plate and he was getting impatient with everyone, Natsume told him to order dessert if he wanted and the boy overjoyed ordered a slice of moist chocolate cake. Since one child had it, the others secretly also wanted dessert and so in the end everyone got one, even Mikan couldn't help to escape her sweet tooth.

Isamu ate a strawberry shortcake slice, Ran ate a slice of apple pie and Mikan simply ate three strawberry macaroons, one shared with Natsume because he stole it.

After arguing a bit Natsume finally payed the bill, Mikan wanted to pay hers and Kenshin's part along with Ran's but Natsume insisted that he would pay for everything today, Mikan gave up on the matter and the five exited the café. Fortunately the rain stopped when they did, after entering the car Natsume set his GPS towards the Grand Alice Aquarium and the children cheered in the back, when everyone had their seatbelts on he turned the engineer and off they went to the road. The aquarium was half an hour away so he turned on the Disney Radio and "Let it go" was on, Isamu let out an annoying grunt.

"Dad, turn it off!"

Natsume smirked, when he went to watch the movie with his son he liked it, but then when he saw it everywhere it made Isamu annoyed by it, everyone was overrating the movie and the songs were everywhere, both Hyuuga's were tired of the movie.

"I like it." Ran said with a smile.

And just like that Isamu's point of view towards the movie changed, suddenly he was singing along with Ran and Kenshin covered his ears with frustration. Mikan giggled and sang along and Natsume took a mental note that her singing voice wasn't that bad. He watched the road but he heard his son happily sing, damn he hasn't heard Isamu single since he divorced Luna. Natsume was really glad that Isamu now had good friends, well he was only singing because Ran was but boys will be boys.

Thirty minutes of singing Disney and Natsume finally parked his Volvo, thankfully and by the looks of it, the Grand Alice Aquarium couldn't be that filled with people, maybe the weather made people stay in their houses and watch a movie instead, that was good. They all got out and walked inside, were some shark and whale plastic statues were, the children ran off immediately towards them and Mikan looked at Natsume.

"Please, let me at least pay my Shin-chan's ticket." She begged with puppy eyes.

He stared at her woeful, "Mikan I told you already let the millionaire pay everything."

She scoffed, "You're being cocky!"

He smirked, "No, I'm wealthy."

She rolled her eyes, sometimes Natsume could really get to her nerve but the worst part is that he never did nothing wrong. Why should she be mad because he wants to pay for the tickets? Well she is because of her pride, she knows that he's rich, but that didn't mean that she couldn't afford stuff, Mikan wasn't poor. And some small part of Natsume's action was actually hurting her pride.

She sighed, "Alright, but you have to promise that in the future you will not pay for everything. Because I don't like that Natsume, it makes me uncomfortable."

He looked at her for a few moments, this woman was really something. Any person would be thankful or happy when someone pays for something instead but she was stubborn in paying her part, what Mikan didn't get is that Natsume wanted to give her everything, he didn't mind even paying her rent every month. He didn't do it because he had a feeling that it would make Mikan mad, he knew that she was a hard working woman and she was used to pay her own bills, Mikan was independent and part of him was just teasing her when he said that he wanted to pay for everything.

When Natsume finally got the five tickets, they entered a dark tunnel with weak lights. Obviously the children were both excited and a bit scared but in a good way, when he handed the tickets over to the nice lady in the entrance they finally got inside and found themselves surrounded by an underwater tunnel. Even Mikan was in awe.

The adults walked slowly and the three kids run up front because a big fish was swimming nearby. The fish was so weird looking that even Ran or Natsume couldn't say what it was. They carried on and Kenshin pointed out that behind the big doors in the end of the tunnel was pitch back, he ran back to his mom and asked for her hand.

"Oh sweetie there's no need to be scared, you're okay." She chuckled. Natsume gave her a questioning look and she made sure that she whispered low enough for Kenshin not to hear, "He's afraid of the dark."

Natsume nodded and gave her an 'I got this' look, he stopped walking with Mikan and Ken looked at him strangely when he kneeled down.

"There's no need to be afraid of the dark, you wanna know why?" he asked with piercing eyes.

Kenshin looked over Mikan and she smiled warmly, the boy looked at him again, "Why?"

Natsume looked ahead towards Isamu and Ran and Kenshin followed his stare, then with a whisper he replied, "Because you're not alone this time. They're not afraid because they know that they're together. I'm sure if you see the fun parts of it you'll even forget the darkness. Besides, you'll be looking at fishes and I'm sure the fishes need to see where they're going uh?" he explained.

Kenshin smiled and nodded, he hugged Natsume, "You're right!" And just like that, the boy went back to his friends (whom were chatting too friendly for his own good) and as soon he broke them off they entered inside, where the two adults could hear loud giggled in the echo.

"Don't go too far!" Natsume yelled, hearing random 'okay's'. He stood up again and Mikan cupped his cheek down to press a kiss on it, he looked a bit surprised but her smile soon was contagious.

"Thanks, that was brilliant." She cooed.

He pulled her closer and smirked down at her, "That's how I got Isamu to sleep without the nightstand on all night. And you're welcome."

She giggled, "You do know that fishes are blind right?"

"Hush, don't tell him that." He chuckled, starting to walk again with Mikan close to his body.

The rest of the day at the aquarium went by smoothly, Kenshin didn't seem to be afraid when dark tunnels appeared and the children squealed happily every time a shark or a stingray appeared. When they passed on a dark tank, Kenshin approached his face and showed confusion, then he saw bright lights glowing sometimes and then he saw something that scarred his mind for life, he quickly ran towards Ran and Isamu and said nothing about it. **(A/N: Can you guess what fish did Kenshin saw? Hint: The fish is in Nemo and lives in the dark depths of the ocean.)**

The day went by happily, the children enjoyed their time in the Grand Alice Aquarium, when they exited it was already late in the afternoon. Natsume let the children have some from the gift shop.

Kenshin got a shark plushie, Isamu decided to have a small figure of a seahorse and Ran chose a mood ring. Natsume saw Mikan looking at a necklace with a golden starfish figure, he smiled and when she wasn't looking he bought it along with the children's gifts. When they left store he pulled Mikan aside quickly and let the children go see the golden fishes in a pound nearby, at first she was confused but when he showed her the necklace in his palm she smiled widely.

"Natsume you shouldn't have…"

"Well I saw you looking at it and I thought it would suit you." He said opening the necklace's zip, Mikan held her hair to the side and let him place it around her neck, when he was done she rubbed the starfish and smiled contently, she turned back at him and pressed a kiss on his lips, he returned the kiss almost too quickly and both shared a sweet and small moment.

Unknown for the adults, three small heads were watching the scene. Kenshin grimaced and Ran sighed.

"Isn't that romantic?" she cooed while holding her hands together, her mood ring was turning pink.

"Bleh, not really. I don't get grownups…" Kenshin mumbled, more interested in the fishes.

Isamu looked at Ran and Kenshin; both had different opinions, "How would you know Ken?" Isamu asked, addressing the boy.

He shrugged, "Cooties. They all have it."

Ran's ring turned red, "Kenshin stop saying that, girls don't have cooties! Cooties aren't real!"

The boy stopped looking at the pound and glared back at her, "Those are lies, I know they're real!"

"Oh really? How?" she yelled.

"Because Isamu got your cooties."

It was Isamu's time to glare at him, "What a-are you talking about? I don't have cooties!" he yelled, "Because they don't exist." He added quickly when Ran also gave him a look.

"See? Even Isamu knows! Now stop believing in cooties." Ran smiled.

"No way, you brainwashed Isamu." Kenshin looked away.

Ran sighed and looked at Isamu pleading, the boy stared at her without knowing what to do, he looked over his father and Mikan and then a wild idea came to his mind. While Kenshin was looking away he pulled Ran closer and whispered his plan on her small ear, her cheeks flushed a little and her ring turned purple, but after he pulled back she considered the plan and accepted it, thanking Isamu for being so supportive. Both started by calling Kenshin's attention.

"Oi Ken, what do you think that happens when a boy gets cooties?" Isamu asked.

Kenshin stopped patting his shark and looked at them strangely, why were they interested in such bad thing?

"He starts to act girly and stops playing with the boys! He wants to be more with the girl that gave him cooties and he turns into a weakly!"

Ran gasped, "How can you say that, it's not true at all!" she yelled, causing the adults to look over the children.

"Yes it is!" he yelled back.

Isamu glared at him and then looked at Ran to be sure if she still wanted to go with the plan, when she nodded; he quickly leaned his face and pecked her lips. Natsume and Mikan stopped walking and stared shocked at the scene, Kenshin dropped his shark and let his jaw drop and Ran just stood there, closing her eyes too tight. After five seconds, Isamu pulled out and stared at Ran. Both seemed to be embarrassed but the look on Kenshin's face was priceless.

Ran gulped down the embarrassment and gave an emotionless expression towards Kenshin, "N-Now let's see if cooties are real."

"If I change like you explained, then you win Kenshin. If I stay normal, then you have to admit that cooties ain't real." Isamu finished, with his ears red.

Kenshin clenched his tiny fists and glared dangerously at Isamu, "It's on."

Natsume and Mikan looked at each other worriedly, but then they traced a small smile and in the end they were just both laughing. When everyone got into the car, the air was tense but it was still funny between the adults.

A war of cooties has just begun.

* * *

**7:37PM**

Hotaru exited from her shower and dressed up, she was ready to go out for some dinner. She was wearing a black pencil skirt with a white button down shirt tucked down into it. She paired it up with black flats and layered a few silver bangles on her wrist and a golden chain on her neck. She was wearing a red lipstick and before leaving her apartment she slide a blazer on top of her shirt grabbed her purse and left.

Now why would Hotaru dress up so nicely and go out for dinner when she could stay at home comfortably? Well she was having dinner with her brother and her sister-in-law, Subaru and Shizune Imai. Hotaru absolutely adored Shizune, she has been dating her brother when Hotaru was still in middle school and when she married him Hotaru was more than glad that her brother wasn't stupid enough to leave her when he started college.

Shizune was a thirty-four year old musician. She played the violin, the cello, the guitar and the piano. But Shizune was a high class lady; she was also the right arm of Hana Himemiya, a respected woman around Japan that held the Hana Woman harem. Shizune had a long hair but she cut it shoulder-length, her hair is green and her eyes are the same color. She has a flawless skin and she uses glasses to see. Just like Subaru.

When Hotaru finally arrived to the bistro, the waiter accompanied her to the table where Subaru and Shizune were, she showed a smile to Hotaru and he stood up to pull a chair for his little sister. Hotaru thanked and sat down; when he also did the same Shizune didn't waste any time on starting a conversation.

"Hotaru, how have you been?" she smiled.

The raven haired woman looked at her and smiled back, "I've been busy, but fine. The company ratings are going up as usual and we're making more money each day. How about you?"

"I'm fine and well, Subaru is as well isn't he?" Shizune looked pointy at him.

He cleaned his throat and nodded, knowing that his wife was sending him a message.

"Hotaru we have something to announce." He said.

"Oh?" Hotaru arched her perfect brow up, "Bad news?"

"No no. Well, not exactly." Subaru sighed, "Well, Shizune is expecting."

Hotaru's eyes widen a bit and she smiled mockingly, "No way. You're pregnant?" she turned her attention towards Shizune, "For how long? When's the due?"

"I'm already a month, the due is to July 9th. That's what the doctor said." Shizune smiled while holding Subaru's hand.

"I see, well, congratulations. Big brother, have you tell mom?" Hotaru smiled.

He sighed, "Yes and she literally screamed in my ear."

Hotaru chuckled, now that she was going to be an aunt she wouldn't need any more children in her life. But also this news made her see how happy Shizune was, is having a child really joyful? Her thoughts descended to the same ones that she had this morning.

Was Hotaru really happy with being single?

* * *

Luna gave a fake chuckle towards Reo. They were both walking on the streets of Italy for a short break. Reo's private jet brought them there three hours ago and Luna already had Reo's bodyguard carrying five bags of new clothes and jewelry.

"But honey boo, I think it's a great idea." She cooed, hugging him.

Reo sighed, "I don't know, I mean…I don't mind singing for charity but to a bunch of kids? My fans are mostly teens and adults. I have a very few that are children. And some of my songs are not exactly lullabies Luna."

She rolled her blue eyes and gave him a cute smile, "But it would also be good for your image, maybe some people from the press will be there, imagine "Reo Mouri gives Christmas concert for children" as your manager I advise you to do it."

He seemed thoughtful.

She sighed, "And as your girlfriend too baby, do it. Pleaseeee~" she cooed with a sweet voice.

_Do it you idiot, it's perfect. _

He smiled, "Ah alright, I can't say no to that face." He chuckled as he kissed her forehead.

She giggled, "Thank you love, how about some shopping to celebrate it?" she offered.

Reo smiled, "Of course, anything for you doll."

Luna smirked. _That's right puppet, anything for me. _

_Perfect._

* * *

**A/N: Longest. chapter. ever. **

**But it was soooo worthy! Thanks for all the support! **

**I don't know if it was risky putting that small peck between the children but it was already planned in my mind. It was an innocent peck, don't hit me!**

**As for always, THANK YOU guys for reading this chapter, if you liked it PUNCH that review button, LIKE A BOSS! And, read and reviews all around. But thanks you guys and I'll see you all dudes… IN THE NEXT CHAPTEEEER!**

**(That's Jacksepticeye's outro btw, check him out on YouTube if you want.)**

**Stay tuned!**


	31. The Story of Luna Koizumi!

**A/N: Alright guys, there's an important note at the end of the chapter make sure to read it please! **

**This chapter is manly about Luna's life since when she was just a child, I want you to see that the Luna in my story was never who she was now. **

**Reviews:**

**Sweet Girly: **Thanks :D I try my best!

**Zathiray: **The normal Natsume is better than this one, this one is calmer and politer XD but thanks! And it makes me happy that you liked that part, for me it was a big risky and I was afraid of my reader's reaction. Enjoy the chapter!

**Sinables: **Yep the fish was a little trivia for you guys, and Luna only wants Reo for her plan, which is close to be revealed so stay tuned for more! Yes, Ruka and Hotaru will start to make more appearances from now on, since Ruka's work in France is done and yes, they will meet soon too. Thanks, I love NatsuMikan too!

**AnimeMango: **Yes, the dog. But Ran agreed with it so that makes her guilty as well. XD

**Alert 1: **Unfortunately they didn't talk in this chapter, but they'll talk in the next one!

**Pretty-awesome-girl11d7: **Sorry about my grammar, I've been working on it. I warn you guys in every beginning of each chapter QAQ SORRY.

**Krusette: **Some fishes are indeed blind. Cooties is a thing that little boys sees as a big disease, and apparently at the young age they think that all the girls have it because to their eyes, we're scary and weird. There will be less cliffhangers now, don't worry! Only long arcs will have them, sometimes I promise XD. I don't know, was Kenshin jealous or horrified? Hmm, well, we'll never know :P. Yes, there will be a sequel when the kids are in middle school, don't worry I plan to carry with this story until the kids get their own kids. AH. TO THE INFINITE NEVER ENDING CHAPTERS XD WOO.

**Guest: **You're welcome and here's another chapter, enjoy sweetie!

**Chibidumpling1198: **Thank youuu :3 and I dunno, maybe he will maybe he'll prove that Kenshin was wrong about cooties. We'll see. Ooooh trust me, Reo and Mikan will have their reunion pretty soon!

**SORRY FOR ANY GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES!**

* * *

_Luna Koizumi was never the woman she is nowadays. As a child she was shy and very quiet, she did not had many friends and when she entered elementary school she was constantly bullied because her family was poor. One day, Luna suddenly had a friend, a new girl in her class was the only one to approach her and protect her from the bullies. Soon enough, Luna was able to get out of her bubble and be more happy and expressive whenever her friend was around. But she was new in the world of friendship, Luna wasn't used to it. So she started to act different whenever someone tried to steal her precious friend away. _

_Luna started to stalk her all the time, to cling on her and to shoo away other classmates that were also trying to befriend with her friend, Luna hated them; she hated the people that tried to steal her away. But the truth is that nobody was trying to do that, Luna was just too paranoid. But her friend decided to let that slip with pity. _

_Enter middle school, that's when Luna stopped being bullied. Puberty hit Luna is the best way possible. Her short strawberry hair became longer and silky, finally her blue bright eyes were recognizable as beautiful and then Luna suddenly became the prettiest girl in her school. It was overwhelming for her, she found herself loving the attention from everyone and she wanted more, she wanted everyone to be her friend. Luna's friend from elementary school was shadowed behind Luna's popularity and she never noticed that her best friend was feeling left out. In seventh grade Luna got her first boyfriend, the captain of the soccer team of the school. It was the highest price for Luna, to conquer the popular and cutest guy in school was the dream of every female student there, and Luna was the one that did it, she was now the queen._

_But Luna's family was still poor and she couldn't ruin her reputation with having second handed used clothes from charity, oh no, so Luna started to beg her parents for expensive clothes that everyone was wearing, her parents worked harder to grand her wishes, because Luna was a good girl and their precious child, so her mother got three jobs and her father got two. They were never home but Luna was able to get fashionable attires, a new phone and a lot of shoes. But it wasn't enough, every time she saw a girl better dressed than her in school something related with anger grew inside Luna and she would always make her parents buy more stuff. Luna's best friend tried to reason with her, to tell her that she was going too far and her parents were working too hard. _

_Something inside Luna clicked, badly. She thought that her friend betrayed her, that her friend suddenly wanted to steal her school life away, that her friend was jealous and wanted to be more popular than Luna. So Luna started to bully her friend from elementary school, although they were still friends, Luna treated her badly and turned her into her personal maid. Luna's friend could walk away any time, but then she would always remember how Luna used to be when they met, so lonely and hurt. _

_So Sumire never left Luna's side, not out of pity or because she was afraid, only because she thought that the sweet Luna could still be there, but Sumire was wrong. Very wrong. _

_High school was worst; Luna broke up with her boyfriend from middle school because in high school the hormones were up the charts. Luna now had a curvy body, her breasts were big enough to call the attention of boys and her mature face was even sexier, she started to wear make-up and Luna started to always draw a mole under her lips. Sumire noticed that Luna's eyes weren't sweet anymore, they were attentive. Her blue eyes were always hunting for victims. Luna thought that it was her time to get some revenge on her bullies from elementary any girl that pulled her hair or called her names had to change schools because they became socially anxious or suicidal. Sumire always felt bad for them, but she never told Luna how much of a bitch she had become. _

_Sumire was popular because of Luna, everyone knew her as Luna's right hand and personal slave. Sumire was Luna's best friend but she didn't felt like it. _

_And then he came._

_Natsume Hyuuga was the new guy in school, he appeared around sophomore year and he was getting attention from everyone. He was handsome and everyone knew that the Hyuuga's were very wealthy and famous. And of course, Luna was more than happy for the opportunity that came into her life. If she dated Natsume and played well enough, become his wife, she would have everything that she wanted for the rest of her life._

_Money, fame and attention_

_When she happily told her plan to Sumire, the green haired teen was horrified. It was her last straw and she couldn't be part of it, Sumire walked away from Luna's friendship and Luna didn't care enough to be hurt, she was too excited to start her plan. Sumire watched the show from far away, like everyone else. Luna went back to be shy, sweet and quiet around Natsume, Sumire saw the old Luna whenever he was with her. But the saddest thing was that she was faking everything, if only Luna could understand how the thing that she was trying to do was evil, so very cruel. But Luna always gets what she wants and in the end Natsume and her became the most popular couple in the school._

_Poor guy, Sumire wanted to tell him for so many times, but she couldn't find it in her heart to do it. Strangely enough, Sumire still cared for Luna as a friend. So she stayed away from it._

_Luna was bored with Natsume, sure, he was handsome and he gave her attention, sure he was sexy, wealthy and good in the physical kind of love, but he was boring. All he talked about was books, his family problems, how much he wanted to be a manga artist instead of taking his father's job in the Corp. And that was a huge no-no for Luna, he needed to stay wealthy or else her hard work had been in vain. _

_So she did it, after four years of pretending to be someone else and making sure that Natsume was the CEO of his family business, she finally got what she was waiting for. A diamond ring, an expensive wedding and the last name of one of the wealthiest families in Japan, she was Luna Hyuuga._

_Natsume's family never liked Luna, especially his little sister Aoi. But she never cared to react, she had to be a good girl and let Natsume protect her, even sometimes Luna pitied Natsume for being so dumb, for an intelligent guy he sure could be dense when it came to love. It was almost too easy for her to approach him, all she had to do was bump into him and throw herself to the ground hard and cry. She used the fact that her parents were poor to appeal for Natsume good side, she used the card of bullying to get his friendship and she used her flirting skills to get his love._

_Now she was married to him, she had a green card for everything. Natsume gave some money for Luna's parents, she was indifferent with that action but also happy, Luna may be a lying bitch but she still loved her parents. Then, in the first year of marriage Luna got to choose their house, the décor, hire maids and butlers and buy her own car along with new clothes, shoes and even more jewelry. And to hide the fact that she was blowing Natsume's money she would give him what he wanted, love, care and sex. And throughout the first year of their marriage, Luna got pregnant._

_It was Natsume's obviously, Luna never cheated on him. But Luna never thought that she would be a mom in the future, sure as a child she would always play with her baby doll and pretend to be a mommy, she was almost happy. But then she realized that having a baby would waste some of her time, how could she go shopping while dragging a baby along? How could she deal with the crying, tantrums and all the disgusting side of taking care of a baby? She was used to a style of life now, but one thing is for sure, Luna was pleased with Natsume's happiness with the news. It means that now he loved her even more and it was practically impossible for him to dump her._

_So when the baby was born, she let him choose the name. Isamu Hyuuga sounded strong, the name means bravery. Luna watched as Natsume payed more attention to their son than she, he bought a lot of stuff for him, including a bedroom that was added to the mansion. She didn't get it, whenever she nursed Isamu and looked at him; she never felt any kind of love towards him. Luna thought that for a second, she lost any ability of really love someone because she has been fake doing it for so many years. Luna was actually sad for not being able to love her own son, but then again, shopping always made her happy. _

_So Luna hired the best nannies that she could find and without Natsume's knowledge she would leave to other countries and shop for things that she didn't even needed, only to make her happy. Somehow, she was successful with doing this for four years. Isamu started to notice that his mom was never around he felt lonely but liked the company of the nannies. But Luna made a terrible mistake. She forgot that Isamu, with the age of four, could actually talk. So one day, Natsume came home early and played with Isamu, the baby told his daddy that his mom was never around, that she was not sweet and that she would only look at him and leave. Natsume was horrified and shocked when he discovered that Isamu was telling the truth._

_He hired a private detective, and he told Natsume that Luna indeed had hired nannies for the past four years to take care of his toddler, that Luna was always out spending the company's money and that she was even seen in parties, always with the company of a man. When Natsume saw the photos taken from the detective, he saw a woman that looked like his wife laughing and kissing a blonde man. Natsume that night sat down on his couch and thought deeply about the situation, Natsume never felt so much anger and hurt and also confused. He was betrayed. He told Ruka, he told him everything. Ruka was worried for his best friend's son and he advised Natsume to confront Luna about it. _

_So he took the day off and went to the park with Isamu in the next day, he was thinking on what to do as he watched Isamu gleefully play with some ants. A heavily pregnant woman holding the hand of a toddler that seemed to be the same age of Isamu approached him carefully, he looked at her and she gasped. She introduced herself as Sumire Yome and Natsume trying to be polite asked why she came to talk with him. _

_She proceeded to sit down and let her son go play with Isamu, Natsume wasn't ready what he was about to hear from her mouth. Her words stabbed him in the heart like a thousand burning fleches. It was all a fake story, Luna has been using him and now it made sense, Isamu was neglected because Luna didn't care; she only wanted to have a good wealthy life. Before Sumire could tell him about Luna's past he just dismissed it, he was too angry. Natsume took off with Isamu, ready to finish it all. _

_Sumire sighed when he left, she had betrayed Luna but for a good reason. She took it too far._

_Anger was what Luna felt when Natsume yelled at her that he knew about everything that she had done, since the day they met until that very last day. Natsume threatened her to just divorce and leave, she threatened back saying that she would take Isamu with her and that he would never see her again. He laughed and said that he had proves that she was never a good mother and that he will easily take full custody of his son. Outraged, she demanded something back for the divorce and Natsume happily gave her some good amount of money to get rid of her person._

_Soon he packed his and Isamu's belongings and they moved far, to another city. Leaving Luna Koizumi behind, because after the divorce she got her maiden's name back. The press was kind enough to say that it was a friendly divorce and that Luna had a depression after Isamu's birth, to explain why Natsume did had the full custody. _

_Natsume's family was supportive, he moved to the city where Aoi lived because she had told him how nice it was. Also, the Hyuuga's had the main CORP. there so it would be easier to go to work from now on. He never heard of Luna after the divorce and he always thanked God for the day where he met Sumire Yome. Or else he would still have Luna slowly ruining his and Isamu's life._

_Luna on the other hand destroyed everything in the mansion after he left, she destroyed the photo album from her wedding, she broke every mirror in the house and after that she drove off to her parent's house, who received her warmly. She stayed there for a few months, plotting on how to revenge her pride and destroy Natsume's life. How dare he embarrass her like that? How dare he treat her this way? After all she had given him; after all she went through to be on the top of the world. He ruined everything, he and that little brat that she has to call son. At least Luna knew Natsume's weak point, yes; Isamu was going to be the main character in her plan._

_Her plan to destroy Natsume Hyuuga's life and whoever stays in her way is coming down with him._

_Nobody leaves Luna Koizumi._

* * *

_**(4 years later, present time)**_

**November 30****th****, Sunday**

**6:23PM**

After another long day with the children the adults were now alone in the living room of Natsume's apartment. Kenshin and Ran were busy helping each packing back to go back home and Isamu was helping them. Natsume had Mikan curled up under his arm with her head resting on his chest, they were both watching TV, some opera was on going and Natsume found himself amused with Mikan's reactions to the too dramatic scenes.

That reminded him, drama. Four years ago Isamu's birthdays had that because Luna was always too late for them. And oh damn, his birthday was this Tuesday!

"Isamu's birthday is close." He suddenly said.

That caught her attention, Mikan loved birthdays. Preparing birthday parties, making the invitations, the games for the children and buy all the sweets and making the cake, she loved that!

"Oh my goodness, he's going to be eight right?" she smiled, looking at him.

He nodded with a silent smile, "Yeah…eight years old, this Tuesday."

She giggled and kissed his cheek, "So he's a year older than Shin-chan after all."

He nodded and played with one of her curls, "Yes, so do you want to do something together for his day?" he asked carefully.

Her face lit, "Of course!"

"Great! So I'll tell my parents that you-"

Mikan sudden worried expression made Natsume stop talking, she smiled nervously at him and Natsume deduced what worried her, "Mikan, I know that meeting the parents it's a great step for a relationship, but it's for Isamu's birthday. We always go to their house for lunch and dinner. I wouldn't mind if you tagged along…" he paused and gave her a look, "I think Isamu would want you and Kenshin there as well…"

She gasped, "I can't believe you just threw that card to me! You know that I can't refuse it now." She crossed her arms thoughtfully, "Well, so if it's on a Tuesday then the kids will have to skip school right? And what about Ran-chan? Wouldn't Isamu want to have her there as well? I m-mean, it's your parent's house I don't want to complicate things…"

He shook his head, "No you're right, the trio are always together right? I'll talk with her parents."

"I have their house number. Ran's mother is a friend of mine, they're good people." She smiled recalling the conversations over the phone with Masako Asawara, Ran's lovely mother.

"Then it's settled, but let's keep this as a secret for Isamu. We'll tell him Tuesday when I pick you up."

She smiled and kissed his lips shortly, "You're a good dad Natsume."

He sighed and closed the small gap between them with a longer kiss.

* * *

**A/N: Alright people, I accidently wrote a kinda long chapter XD But I didn't even noticed because I was too into it. And I also decided something, I'll write complete chapters from now on. Only the ones that the arcs are too long will have cliffhangers. I now have the story plot ready until chapter 65! **

**One more thing, the drama will start after Isamu's birthday chapter, but before that I wanna write a past arc chapter, you can vote what I should write in the reviews, I'll count them and then do it:**

**-Aiden's adoption. (Mikan and Kenshin's chubby cat)**

**-Natsume's POV on meeting Luna in high school.**

**-Mikan's POV on meeting Reo for the first time.**

**Alright-y, choose between those three and I'll write them. Then I'll go back to the story and start the drama. I'll say what I'll write in the next chapter, so hurry and vote because I might be fast!**

**Thanks for reading, don't forget to review for more!**

**Stay tuned**


	32. Happy Birthday Isamu! (incomplete)

**A/N: Make sure to read the note in the end of the chapter! Please.**

**Reviews:**

**AiramEnayle: **Oh my God you totally got what I wanted for you guys to understand, you nailed it! Thank you for reading the chapter and thinking about it, your review really cheered me up!

**MarSette: **Yeah Sumire is an awesome best friend. She did that for her own good.

**Guest: **They'll meet pretty soon! Thanks for reading. :)

**Sinables: **Hahaha wow, yes, Luna's family is poor and she did use Natsume but please pay attention the chapter and you'll know why!

**JZ56: **Isamu's birthday is heeeere and it's highly disappointing I'm so sorry. OTL

**Pretty-awesome-girl11d7: **Thanks for reading and voting!

**BrimstoneButterfly: **HI! Welcome back yo! Yeah, my Luna didn't born and said 'Imma be a huge bitch to everyone' nope, personalities grow with the person so Luna changed with the aspects that life gave her. Yes, you nailed everything and that's what I exactly thought, nobody borns evil. Luna was a lost girl that suffered from bullying and puberty helped her get attention, she wasn't used to it so she grew up to love it, she saw herself being in command and feared for the first time to that changed her for the worst. Haha nonsense, I like long reviews! Sorry if mine wasn't good enough and also sorry for the incomplete chapter, I just wasn't really into it as much I was last week.

**Sweet Little: **Yeah poor Luna, I'm glad that you got the message sweetie!

**Pandabelle: **Thanks for voting XD

**LBMA: **Yes, those three together ought to create a funny scene, and don't worry about grammar mine's terrible as well so don't even say sorry :P

**SORRY FOR ANY GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES.**

* * *

**December 2nd, Tuesday**

**6:21AM**

Natsume yawned for the third time, today was Isamu's birthday, like always they would make a small trip to his parents for a family birthday party. But this time Mikan, Kenshin and Ran would be coming along. Natsume still recalled the conversation that he had with Masako Asawara.

"_But you make sure that she doesn't get hurt, and oh, don't let her eat too much sweets. Also, she's bringing her inhaler with her, so if you see her a bit wheezy give her two puffs. But Mikan will know don't worry, oh and by the way, it's nice to meet you Mr. Hyuuga she told me that you were a good father so I hope you'll be able to take care of my little girl. Of course that it won't be hard since Mikan's there but Ran also told me about you, she has great respect for you and she absolutely adores your son. When you told her about the surprise she was happy that you could trust her and I can't wait for your son to see what Ran got for him, it's so educational and sweet I'm sure he'll love it." _

That was a way to find out that Ran had asthma, he hoped that she wouldn't have any attack because of the sudden change of air, Aoi had asthma but it stopped when she was nine. Natsume still recalled the wheezing and the coughing fit and seeing his sister unable to breathe properly. And that was another way to find out that Masako is was a chatter. Natsume almost didn't spoke during their conversation, but it was still amusing for him how the woman could speak so much without holding any breath. Natsume did told Kenshin and Ran to keep everything as a secret and he was glad that two seven year-old were able to do it.

Natsume was wearing a V neck long-sleeve jumper with a slate color then he wore an obsidian wool overcoat because it was cold and rainy outside. Then Natsume wore straight regular jeans in dark wash. On his feet was a pair of onyx steed shoes.

The man grabbed his phone and texted Mikan asking if she was ready, the plan was that Ran would sleepover at her house to get everyone already together. Natsume would be driving four hours to get to his parent's city and he ought to be there before eleven. Unfortunately Aoi couldn't be there, but she sent Isamu's gift through urgent mail to her parent's house so it got there a day ago. But the person that Natsume really wanted wouldn't be there, it was going to be the first birthday that Ruka would miss and apparently he has been too busy to even answer Natsume's calls.

He walked to Isamu's bedroom and smiled when he saw the boy, fully dressed and ready to go. He was wearing an oversized chocolate colored hoodie and underneath the hoodie was a long-sleeve cloud shirt. Then he wore denim colored skinny chinos. On his feet was a pair of waterproof shearling look boots.

Isamu was sleeping while sitting on his bed. It was extraordinary the way that Isamu could sleep, when he was five Natsume found him snoozing on up of a bookshelf. It was quite a small heart attack for Natsume in that day. His thoughts were interrupted when his phone vibrated.

_**We're ready if you are. :) **_

He smiled at Mikan's text and placed the phone on his pocket, then Natsume approached his son and patted him in the head.

"Isamu, it's time to go." He said softly.

The boy opened his eyes slowly to look at his father but closed them again then he clinged towards Natsume wrapping his arms around his neck. Isamu obviously was begging to be carried and that made Natsume chuckle.

"Aren't you too big to be carried?" he questioned calmly.

"Hm…but daddy…" Isamu yawned while complaining, "Ts' ma birthday…"

Natsume could never resist to his son when he was sleepy, besides he was pouting right now and Isamu knew that he could always win the pout. So Natsume carried his son up and left his bedroom after clicking the lights off. He proceeded to do the same to every light in the house that was on, make sure that the alarm was also on and then he juggled his house and car keys to his pocket, Isamu let out a soft sigh that warmed Natsume's ear. He knew that his son was a bit sad for not spending his birthday with Mikan and his two best friends, and that's why Natsume was even smugger about his surprise to his son. He couldn't wait to see his reaction.

* * *

**Mikan's Apartment**

**6:36AM**

"Alright Natsume will be here any minute with Isamu-kun, does anyone needs to use the bathroom before we leave?" Mikan asked to the two children sitting on the couch.

Kenshin shook his head as well with Ran, who had Aiden sitting on her lap purring.

The little boy was wearing a coin colored sweatshirt with a white stripe on the neck trim with traditional blue parka that was unzipped. Then he wore skinny mid-washed jeans. On his feet was a pair of showcourt white Croc trainers.

Ran was wearing her hair in two down twin-tails. She was wearing a buttermilk plain dress that went just a few inches above her knees. Then to cover her arms from the cold was a fur hooded parka that reached until her hips. Under the dress she wore white tights and hazelnut ballet flats.

Then Mikan was wearing a white shirt with a scallop collar and a lavender full skirt. Then she wore a pair of jet-black leather ankle boots. Her make-up was simple: a bit strawberry colored (and flavored) lip-gloss was enough. Mikan didn't like to wear makeup, only to work and in this case, to impress Natsume's parents. God she felt like a teenager.

She must've changed her attire at least four times until choosing one that pleased her enough.

She sat down on the single sofa and nervously bit her nails while looking at the window, Kenshin noticed his mother's uneasiness and rolled his eyes with a smile. He just wanted to go back to his bed and sleep, but since it was Isamu's birthday he was excited. Yesterday his ma and he went birthday shopping and he was very content with his choice, he hoped that Isamu would appreciate the fact that it was hard for Kenshin to not keep the gift to himself instead of giving it to his friend.

Ran was having a pretty chill moment with Aiden, the cat liked her. Since she came inside those doors almost two years ago and until now, Aiden liked Ran's smell and she would always pat him in the right places, making the adult chubby cat purr loudly and show affection towards the little girl.

Kenshin yawned again and looked at Mikan, she was still glancing outside the window, "Ma, how much time will they take?"

Mikan looked at him and smiled, "Patient Shin-chan, you should have it."

Ran giggled when Aiden started to lick her finger, he occasionally bit her too but nothing too hard or painful, Kenshin noticed the relationship that was forming between the two. Then he glared at Ran when she wasn't paying attention to him. He still wasn't sure that he had forgiven her for letting Isamu kiss her. It was a foul move for her to pass her disgusting cooties to him! Now Isamu was going to change, and over the top, it was his birthday! Isamu was older so he was less immune to the cooties. If only he could've trust Kenshin's words, now he just had to stay back and watch his poor friend change into a cootie boy.

Five minutes passed and Mikan's phone vibrated. Natsume was here and Mikan smiled, she checked everything once again before leaving with the children, she had placed food and water on Aiden's bowls, she locked all the windows, she had a charger, home keys and everything essential on her purse then Mikan grabbed a bag where it contained two blankets and two pillows for the children to use if they wanted to sleep, when they were about to leave Mikan reminded herself to check if she had Ran's inhaler, when she checked her purse again and saw it she sighed in relieve and soon they left the apartment.

* * *

Inside Natsume's Volvo was Isamu snoozing against the pillow that he brought. He smiled at his son and then looked up at the sky; it looked like it was going to rain soon. This year the winter has been literally all cold and wet, Natsume wondered when it was going to snow. Isamu hated winter but the boy loved snow and Natsume liked it as well.

A noise of a door opening caught the man's attention, he looked at his right and saw Mikan walking behind Ken and Ran. He exited from his car and rested his finger on his lips to create an 'Ssh' sound. The children stopped and looked at him confusedly.

"Isamu is sleeping, enter without making any sound." He smiled while opening the door for the kids.

Ran nodded with a smile and entered first, sitting in the middle. Then Kenshin followed her and sat down while looking at Isamu, he pouted. He should've brought a pillow too. Mikan and Natsume shared a look before greeting each other with a short but sweet kiss. Then he escorted her to the other side of the car to open the door for her, before she walked inside the seat next to the driver.

When Natsume started to drive again, Ran and Kenshin couldn't help but to stare at the snoozing friend, watching him sleep made the little girl yawn as well, and as contagious the yawns are, Kenshin was next. **(A/N: I yawned after typing that, did you do it as well? XD) **Mikan reached for a bag that she remembered to bring along and from inside she fetched two blankets, when the children saw her turn back and handing it to them they almost cheered, but they had to be hush-hush because of Isamu.

When everyone was inside the car Natsume let the children prepare their "beds" because Kenshin couldn't even keep his eyes straightly open, Ran was resting leaning on Isamu and Kenshin had the luck of having the window side. Ran also noticed that Isamu didn't brought a blanket and he was shivering a bit, so she shared her cotton pink blanket with bunny figures with him and that action didn't go pass Natsume, who smiled richly at the scene.

So he drove away, casually having a quiet conversation with Mikan about where did his parents lived and how long did the trip was going to take if everything went well, he also showed her in his phone every stop that he would make for pauses, restroom breaks and eating.

**7:05AM**

He had to be in his parent's house in four hours and that was exactly how long the trip was going to take. Natsume did move far away from his hometown but he had to, thanks to a certain ex-wife. When he finally drove out of the city it was when he noticed that Mikan had also fallen asleep, he smiled at her but quickly stared to the road again, the sky was grey but it could be seen the sun trying to appear. He turned on the radio to listen to the news.

_It's five past seven in the morning you know what that means! An hour of music without any interruption, oh yeah you listened well baby! But first we're gonna make you hear the traffic news, and just to be safe drive slowly, today's gonna rain, like hella and there might even be some snow! Now to the traffic news!_

_Yes thank you! Well, in the road AY24 there's a mild traffic caused by an accident, then we have a heavy traffic in IC19, it appears that the road is closed because of some flood but I can see that it's being taken care of. Apart from that the roads seem to be clean and safe, don't forget to start using your snow tires because as my partner said, it might start snowing this week!_

_There you have it! Now sit back and relax, 'cuz up next it's Reo Mouri with his latest new soun-_

Natsume turned off the radio with a frown. He just wanted to know the news and that's what he had, luckily he turned on the radio in a good timing. He looked back at the sleeping Mikan and tried to understand how much she has been through. Luckily she had good friends, including Hotaru Imai. He wondered what could have happened if Mikan didn't had any support, would Kenshin be even here? He dismissed those thoughts and concentrated on the road again, there's no time to think on the past, only in the future. From now on, he was going to take care of her and her son, because he had a feeling that Mikan was the one. Even if it's only been a month since they know each other Natsume had one of those feelings in the gut that never disappointed him, only once in high school.

As the minutes turned into a full hour, Mikan started to awake slowly. She was embarrassed of course but Natsume assured that it was fine for her to rest as long as she wanted. They had a casual conversation, Natsume eventually asked Mikan if she knew how to drive and she explained that she never had the time to take lessons, besides she also admitted to be afraid of driving because when she was young she was involved in a car accident, nobody got severely injured but she got a bit traumatized. Natsume told her that he got his car license when he was nineteen but he could already drive at the age of sixteen so he said that he got lucky for not being caught ever. Mikan was surprised that he never got caught driving without a license, for three years he managed to do that? That was impressive.

Mikan asked questions about Aoi, how was she doing. He said that she wasn't going to make it to the party but she had sent Isamu's birthday gift through mail to his parent's house. He also added that she was currently in Sweden and then she was going to travel around Europe for her modeling book, she was being a huge success out there and Mikan couldn't help to feel happy, Natsume showed a proud smile when he talked about his little sister. But he also finished saying that when she was little Aoi was demon, she would always get away with anything because she was daddy's little girl. She used her cuteness to get everything, and the worst part was that she knew how cute she was so confidence was something that Aoi never lacked.

An hour passed and Natsume had managed to stop by a service area, the children were left sleeping in the car when they left, hurriedly to go buy some breakfast and drink coffee. Of course that Natsume parked his Volvo right in front of the building; he was always looking at the car to see if the children were alright.

Inside the car, after five minutes of silence, two pair of small crimson eyes slowly opened lazily. Isamu yawned and stretched his legs as long as he could and he immediately jumped a little when he noticed a certain girl resting against him. Isamu froze and looked at the other person snoozing in the other window side. His face expression showed nothing but shock and then, slowly, a smile plastered on his lips.

"KEN! RAN!" he yelled, almost too loudly.

Kenshin moaned in his sleep and ignored the yell but on other hand, Ran was startled easily and jumped when Isamu was done screaming contently. She calmed down and rubbed her left eye and with a sleepy smile she looked at Isamu, "Happy birthday Isamu…" she let out a small yawn covered by her palm.

He grinned and hugged the girl, "You're here! You're both here! Why?" he was too ecstatic to be quiet, he didn't care how early it was.

She giggled and hugged him back, "Surprise…your dad brought us along with Mikan!"

Isamu stopped hugging her reluctantly and gazed at her overjoyed, both stared at each other for long seconds before they remember the kiss that they shared, awkwardly they separated and looked away with flushed cheeks.

"Um, wanna wake Kenshin up?" she suggested, trying to clear the awkward air between them.

It was clearly forgotten when Isamu gave her a devilish smirk. He told her to hush, then he stood up and traded seats with Ran, who shook her head with a smile. She was already prepared with the arguments and loud noises to come in a few seconds. Even she jumped when Isamu yelled right next to Kenshin's ear, whom yelled highly in a pitchy sound that even impressed Ran.

"MOMMY!" the brunette frantically yelled with his pupils dilated, obviously threatening any tears from falling.

Isamu chuckled and Ran looked at Kenshin a bit preoccupied. He quickly dodged Kenshin's punch but both fell on the car's floor wrestling, Kenshin on top, pinching Isamu's cheeks while he pulled his attacker's hair. Ran squealed and pulled her legs up to avoid being stuck between the two.

"Stop it you two!"

Both obeyed quickly and Kenshin allowed Isamu stand up again, they sat on their original seats and Ran sighed, "We have to behave alright? It's too early for fighting and today's a happy day!" she turned at Kenshin with a disapproving look, "Isn't there something you need to tell Isamu?" She hinted.

He scoffed and crossed his arms with a pout, "No…"

"Kenshin." She sighed.

He groaned and looked at Isamu in the eye, "Happy birthday."

Isamu smiled a bit, "Thanks Ken!"

"Stop calling me that! I don't like it…" Kenshin was lying, he just felt weird about it because no one else called him Ken.

Isamu smirked, now he was definitely going to keep calling him like that.

Some minutes of actual peace and proper conversation between the children passed and the adults returned, Natsume received a booming and happy thank you from Isamu and they shared a hug, same happened with Mikan because the boy wasn't able to hide his feelings to see her on his special day. Natsume was back on the road and Mikan gave each child their breakfast, after surprisingly eating without making a mess or dirtying something (for Natsume's relief) they children were with full stomach and in a happy mood.

**8:18AM**

It's been almost fifteen minutes since they left the service area, Mikan was singing with the children a familiar song that they learned in the music class, Natsume didn't wanted to say it but it was starting to get…repetitive for him. But if they were not singing, they were talking. The adults were amused, because it was like the children had forgotten that they weren't alone.

They talked about a game, where Ran won and then Isamu accused of Kenshin being a crybaby that day, then after a short argument stopped by Ran (again), Natsume noticed that the little girl was highly respected by the two boys, they were fast to obey her, he took a mental note on that. Then the two boys forgot about their argument and started to talk about future movies coming soon, Kenshin enthusiastically talked about how he had seen the **Avengers: Age of Ultron** trailer more than ten times, Ran told him that she watched it more than fifteen and Isamu said that he only watched it six times. Ran also pointed out some theories, including why Pinocchio's music was linked to Ultron. The conversation then escalated to their common two enemies in school: Nana and Arata. While listening, Natsume and Mikan changed a brief worried look.

"I would punch Arata in the nose again." Kenshin mumbled receiving a stern look from Mikan.

Isamu looked at him, he remembered when Ken came to his defense in his first day of school, it seems like it was only yesterday. Then he remembered that Ran was pushed aside, he paled a little and turned to her.

"Oh right, I forgot thank you that day too." He said.

She looked at him confusedly then she deduced that he was talking about the day when they met; she smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "No worries."

They shared a smile and went back to chatting senselessly about something. Natsume and Mikan were blessed with silence when each one started to drift to sleep again; it was still a bit early. There was a comfortable silence in the car, Mikan started to hum a melody that she kept inventing and Natsume listened while driving.

"I bet you have a beautiful singing voice." He suddenly commented.

That surprised her in a big way; she stopped humming and looked at him flushed, "Excuse me?"

He tried not to chuckle, "Your humming is good. So I bet you can sing even better." He praised smoothly.

Mikan swooned and looked scarlet at her lap, "I don't uhm, sing."

"Alright." He nodded, "Fair enough."

"But I used to sing to Shin-chan, to help him fall asleep." She smiled with the old memories of her son being only a baby.

He slowed the speed a little and looked at her, "I bet he loved it."

* * *

**11:10AM**

Natsume was tired, driving for four hours wasn't exactly a piece of cake, but when he finally passed the bridge and officially entered the city where he grew up as a child he felt an overwhelming relieve that nothing bad happened during the trip. The children had woken up an hour ago and they were hungry again, Natsume was able to buy them sandwiches on the last service area that they stopped and they were now happy again, Isamu started to tell Kenshin and Ran the places where he visited last time he was here, which was two years ago. Natsume was surprised that he son still recalled those places and he noticed that he would always say 'dad and me'.

Mikan also pointed to a garden and told him how beautiful it was.

"I used to go there after school and sketch." He said sighing.

"Sketch?" she asked him amusedly.

He nodded, "I always wanted to be a manga artist." Natsume admitted sounding a bit disappointed.

She decided not to make more questions about but she stayed thoughtfully about it, this was a new thing that she had learned from her boyfriend. She herself also enjoyed drawing as a child but she mostly drew what she saw, like flowers on a vase or a fruit basket. All of her drawings were straight to the fridge; her father would always praise them even if they weren't that good.

"We're almost there." Natsume said out loud for everyone.

Five minutes later and he parked the car in front of an apartment building, when Mikan looked at it she was amazed, it looked like the building where Natsume and Isamu lived, high and modern looking.

"My parents used to live on a mansion but they decided to move here. It was better located and smaller, since it was only the two of them." Natsume commented while reading Mikan's face. She nodded and gave him a smile.

* * *

The Hyuuga seniors received their guests warmly; Kaoru immediately squeezed Isamu into a bear hug and gave him many kisses. Then Ioran Hyuuga approached Natsume and both shared a half-hug, then he patted Isamu's head and wished him a happy birthday. Mikan, Kenshin and Ran shyly let the reunion between the family go without any interruptions, out of politeness. But when Kaoru was done giving too much love to her son and grandson she eyes Mikan and a creepy grin immediately crossed over her red lips.

"This must be Mikan and…" she looked down and her gaze softened towards the two intimidated children, "You these two cuties must be Isamu's friends." She smiled.

Before Mikan could say anything Isamu quickly approached Kenshin and Ran, finding strange how quiet they were being, then he held their hands and grinned at his grandma, "This is Kenshin Yukihira and Ran Asawara and they're my best friends!" he boomed.

Kenshin smiled a little and Ran flushed.

"Nice too meet you Mrs. Hyuuga." Ran said quietly.

"Hi!" Kenshin waved.

"Haha, your friends seem to be nice Isamu." Ioran commented with a calm smile.

The rest of the hour went just as Ioran and Natsume having a private conversation that was between a small part of how the business was doing and to talk about family, the children were busy watching Disney Channel on the living room and talking more now since Kenshin and Ran passed the shy wall and got comfortable, it was let for Kaoru to "kidnap" Mikan into the kitchen to make lunch. Kaoru actually did it on purpose she wanted to have a chat with her. The first thought that she had on Mikan was 'innocence' because Mikan looked so intimidated, nervous and Kaoru noticed that the brunette was doing her best to not screw up. It showed that Mikan wanted to impress Natsume's parents because she actually cared about him. It was interesting for Kaoru but Luna was almost a sociopath and if Kaoru hadn't followed her instincts she would believe that Luna also loved her son.

Kaoru was washing vegetables and she had asked Mikan if she could cut the washed ones into small cubes for the salad, she gladly helped. Kaoru watched Mikan and she liked what she saw, Luna always invented some kind of excuse for not cooking but Mikan didn't roll her eyes or sighed, she grabbed the knife and started to cut them right away, and she was doing a good job. Kaoru smiled.

_She had to cut small things to feed her son, that's nice._

"So Mikan, how long have you met my son?" Kaoru asked. She didn't know the answer for sure because her son rarely called her, the bastard.

Mikan was brief to respond, for she was a little concentrated on not cutting her fingers, "The twenty-two of November, a month ago."

Kaoru raised her short eyebrow and glanced at Mikan amusedly, "You remember the exact day?" she smirked.

"Y-Yes." She answered nervously, "Is that weird? I can't forget about that day…"

Kaoru placed freshly washed vegetables on a basket for Mikan and chuckled, "No, I remember the day when I met my husband. Because I cherish that day, it's a special one."

Mikan couldn't help to wonder how old Kaoru was, he had an elegant and healthy body and her face was well cared, Kaoru could easily pass as a woman in her 30's. She had a long raven hair and two crimson eyes, Mikan realized that Natsume inherited his mother's looks and…eyebrows. She giggled to herself and caught and curious look coming from Kaoru.

"What's so funny?" she asked confusedly.

"I don't mean to be rude but I can see where Natsume got the eyebrows." She blunted out, feeling a bit bold.

Kaoru hid her amused smirk, "Well, he also got his sexy features don't you think?" she nudged her arm and winked, making Mikan blush.

"I, we, we haven't done it…yet." Mikan stared at her vegetables, this was too embarrassing to say but she needed to be honest.

Kaoru dropped the tomato that she was watching and looked at Mikan in shock, "WHAT? Really, no sex at all? Not even oral?"

"N-No! Mrs. Hyuuga _please_ can we talk about something else?" Mikan spluttered.

"Alright." She turned off the water and looked at Mikan's job with a smile, "Good work Mikan, and may I say, Kenshin is adorable and he looks so cute. I could eat him."

"Yes, he's my pride and joy." Mikan cooed.

Kaoru smile faded, "So…the father…"

"He left." Mikan replied dryly.

Kaoru cringed a little with her tone, one minute she was being friendly and the second when she mentioned Kenshin's father her attitude changed into a scary one.

"I'm sorry." She said ashamed. The girl was only there for one hour and Kaoru was already dropping bombs.

* * *

**Ages update:**

**Natsume Hyuuga: **30 years old.**  
Isamu Hyuuga: **8 years old. **  
Ioran Hyuuga: **50 years old. **  
Kaoru Hyuuga: **52 years old.

**A/N: Hey guys, long time no see and I'm sorry for that! Yes, you noticed that this chapter is incomplete and it's going to stay like that for a while. I will complete the rest of it in future chapters, might be a as a flashback or a side chapter I don't know. This chapter is more like a filler so I don't care much about finishing it now, I wanna get to the climax of the plot and I'm already late!**

**NOW, I MADE A POOL IN MY PROFILE: It's about who Ran ends up with in the future, the pool will be there until the end of this story and more than that so don't worry, no pressure for voting. **

**So without any delays, I'll say the winner for the special arc:**

**-Mikan's POV on meeting Reo!**

**So brace yourself for the next chapter, it will be interesting.**

**Review for more!**

**Stay tuned!**


	33. When They Met! (Past chapter)

**A/N: Special chapter is here! Mikan is 18 years old and Reo is 19.**

* * *

**May 27th, 2006**

**4:12PM**

**Saturday**

He saw her from far away, he was taking a walk in the mall with his friends and his amethyst eyes suddenly caught her. He didn't mean to stalk her, he didn't want her to think of him as a creep, but he couldn't help to be attracted to her. She had a cute smile, her laughter was sweet and pure and well, her body was desirable, but no. For the first time Reo didn't look at a girl and only thought on how to sleep with her, what he saw in this girl was something else. His chest was warm and his heart melted when she glanced to his way, he noticed that one of her friends whispered something in her ear while they shared a long stare, and then suddenly the brunette flushed and looked away seeming to be embarrassed. He smirked, what a cute, cute girl.

Mikan had just been invited to spend the day at the mall with Anna and Nonoko. Mikan had been a bit depressed with the departure of Tsubasa and Misaki, they were like older siblings for her but after they wedding they moved to another city, sure they could talk through the phone or e-mail each other but it wouldn't be the same. So her closest friends and the best friend dragged her out of her dark room and brought her to the mall. Mikan found herself smiling and laughing and for the first time in weeks she was happy. They entered a clothing shop and started to look for dresses for the prom, they would soon be graduating from high school. When Mikan was focused on a cute dress that was on her hands she felt like someone was watching, when her instincts made her glance through the window outside the store her hazel eyes met a pair of amethyst. She froze in the spot when the attractive guy continued to stare at her, the way he did it made her legs go jelly and her stomach turn upside down. She wished that Hotaru was here right now, but she was at her grandma's house.

"He's been staring at you for a while." Anna suddenly whispered, followed with giggles that her and Nonoko did. Hotaru just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Mikan looked away quickly and covered her warm cheeks, she looked at her friends in help, "W-What do I do?" she squealed silently, like a shy mouse.

Anna shrugged with a sarcastic smile, "I don't know, go there and actually give him your number?"

"Mikan do it!" Nonoko begged.

She sighed, she didn't have the time for boys anyway, she needed to make her résumé for college and she couldn't waste any time. Hotaru sure would hit her.

"Oh my shit, he's coming! He's walking this way. Holy shit Mikan he's looking at you don't turn." Anna harshly whispered with her blue eyes widened.

Mikan panicked internally, she heard his steps coming into a halt right behind her. She turned slowly and her heart almost stopped, he was taller and so, so very handsome.

"Hey." He smiled friendly, "I'm Reo and I couldn't help to notice you from far away." He glanced at Mikan's friends and then back at her, he looked nervous now, "So uhm, I know this is a little direct or you can say, weird, but do you wanna go eat an ice cream or something like that?"

Nonoko and Anna were suddenly gone, Mikan found herself alone with him. She knew that the twins were somewhere hiding and watching everything, the traitors.

She looked at him and noticed that Reo was looking directly into her eyes, nowhere else, just her eyes. She took a long sigh a smiled at him, "Nice to meet you Reo, I'm Mikan. And uhm…it is a little weird." Both chuckled at that, "I also noticed you staring at me."

He nodded, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to look like a creep but I couldn't take my eyes out of you. My friends they, they almost forced me to come here but to be honest I would've come talk to you anyway. You seem to be a nice bird." He grinned, "So, ice cream? On me of course…" he desperately wanted her to accept the offer, he wouldn't have it. He just wanted to meet her so badly.

She saw it, she saw the look of desperation on his eyes and she strangely found it… adorable. It was like he was begging without doing it. She couldn't help it, "Yes, alright an ice cream sounds good right now."

He cheered mentally; "Yeah, damn it's hot uh?" he small talked, looking more comfortable now.

After texting the girls that she was going with Reo they left the clothing store to the food court in the top floor of the mall, they talked about different things. Mikan found out that Reo had dropped college to pursue his dream of being a singer, she confidently told her that he was already recording on a studio that his friend had. She told him that she wanted to be a teacher like her father, he cheered on that saying the children need more kind teachers. He flirted of course; he told her how beautiful she was shamelessly. They were strangers but Mikan found herself growing a crush on him.

And two weeks later they started to date, from hugs to kisses they were a growing couple, Reo adored Mikan and he knew he would spend his life with her. He knew that Hotaru was found of her and he gave up on trying befriending her, he didn't care much about it, he only cared on having Mikan in his life.

And it was until a year later when that was over. When he found out that she was pregnant.

* * *

**(Meanwhile when Mikan and Reo meet in the mall)**

"Darling I have something to tell you." Luna Hyuuga grinned as she hugged her husband from behind.

He placed the cup of coffee down and sat her on his lap, after pressing a kiss on her cheek he questioned, "And what is it?"

She smiled, "Well, I found out something this morning that could change our lives."

"Luna?" he was worried.

She chuckled, "Guess who's going to be a daddy?"

He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her close into a kiss, he grinned, obviously excited, "Me? Are you pregnant? Luna are you?" he looked at her stomach and placed his hand on it, "Luna, tell me. Are you pregnant?"

She laughed warmly and nodded, "Seven weeks. Darling I'm pregnant!"

He stood up and sat her on the counter, nevertheless minding the cup of coffee that fell in the floor. He kissed her face and then her lips, he was so happy. Natsume always wanted to have a child, to be called father. And now, after only a year of his wedding, he could finally start buying baby clothes and just not stare at them dreaming. Oh he just wanted his baby now, boy or girl he didn't care. He was going to be a daddy.

If only his wife shared the same feelings about it.

* * *

**A/N: Surprised? Yep, the day when Reo and Mikan met in the mall was the day when Luna announced her pregnancy. Weird uh? Well not for me, I planned it. HAHAHA. **

**It was short but it is to be short, it's a side chapter right? Next chapter is when the drama begins and it will be parted in various parts because it will be a long arc. But don't worry, I will write long chapters.**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews help me a lot!**

**Don't forget to vote on my pool in the profile, voting on the reviews will not count so please don't do it. If you're having trouble with the pool just PM me alright? Good :D **

**Stay tuned!**


	34. Kenshin Has COOTIES!

**A/N: Isamu is winning on the pool! Wow, I will not vote because I have no idea who she should end up with, although I have a faint idea for the future. **

**Thanks for the positive feedback guys!**

**Reviews:**

**Animeandmangafangirl: **It was the day when humanity received a grim reminder. Just kidding XD

**MarSette: **Thanks for always finding my babies adorable! Yes don't worry about that, this chapter is incomplete and when I finally get around completing it there will be a lot of chatting with Natsume's parents with Mikan. **(2) **Thanks for voting!

**BrimstoneButterfly: **It's not a bug it's like a new thing (not so new) of the site, I was confused too now every time before reading anything I gotta click on the filler and change the rating to 'All' , it's a little annoying but I got used to it. In my phone it doesn't work though so it's a problem. Yeah, the atmosphere in the car during the trip was really hard to write because I had to remember what me and my siblings did, which was usually sleeping and sing or just talk about stuff. I'm still scared about the wait I wrote his parents; I was hoping they weren't OOC. D: Yes, exactly! It was a really last time thing to add but I was like 'oh what the heck' and I did it! Thanks for appreciating the little things about my story I always love reading your reviews! :D I won't give up on this story too so stay tuned!

**Sweet Little: **Maybe I'm trying to tell you guys something about Reo. And thanks for reading sweetie~

**Guest: **It's highly accurate. Chapter two: Isamu is 1 year and 4 months older than Kenshin. Isamu is in Kenshin's class and late a year in school because he was born in the end of the year. The ages in the beginning of the story were the ages that the characters currently had, I also updated the ages in chapter 32. So it's all good! Thanks for reviewing! ^-^

**Guest: **Hotaru is not in the store? If the part where it says 'Hotaru would hit her' confuses you that's Mikan thinking. ^_^ Hope I could help!

* * *

**December 17****th****, Wednesday**

**10:23AM**

**(2 weeks later)**

Never Alice Elementary looked so bright and jolly. There were no classes today because it marked the end of the first semester. Tomorrow the Christmas vacation started and every school will be closed for the holiday until January. But Alice Elementary had specially planned a Christmas party and the school invited every parent and family of the students to come and celebrate it. Every class had a booth:

The kindergarten classrooms had planned a mystery presents booth, which contained things that the children had created inside wrapped gifts.

The first graders had a hot chocolate booth, where for a small amount of money they would sell cups of sweet and delicious hot cocoa.

The second graders had a pastry booth, the idea came from Isamu and Narumi liked to so much that they ended up using it. So for the last two weeks they have been planning who would bring what.

The third graders had a Santa's outfit's booth. Their most popular clothing sold was the hat.

The fourth graders had a kissing booth, which was terrifying for a certain brunette.

And finally the fifth graders, they didn't had a booth but they had a school play ready for later.

Inside class 2-B was Kenshin, Isamu and Ran and their classmates. The classroom was decorated with the festive theme, it had a tall fake Christmas tree in the corner and the tables that once were in the room were pushed against the wall to create a bigger space in the middle. Sitting on top of a table and resting against the wall was Kenshin, holding a plate of biscuits. Standing in front of him was Isamu, who couldn't stop smirking. The reason why the boy was almost laughing was because Kenshin was dressed as an elf. Short brown velvet shorts, a green t-shirt with a brown vest that matched the shorts and a tall green hat with a pointy figure. Kenshin couldn't stop glaring at him; if only he wasn't holding a plate with biscuits he would have hit Isamu.

"I swear Isamu once Ran comes back I'll punch you in that smug face." He threatened.

Isamu shrugged unfazed by the threat that he had received, both knew that it wouldn't happen because they both promised Ran to behave on the school's party.

"Why is she taking so long anyway?" Kenshin complained.

"Because she's with her family. I wonder where dad is…" Isamu sighed worriedly.

Kenshin blinked at him and grinned, "Don't worry Isamu; I'm sure he'll come. He must be with my ma."

He looked up and nodded, "Yeah, you're right. They must be almost here. I can't wait for them to see our school!"

"My ma knows the school already she's even friends with Naru-sensei."

Isamu looked surprised, "She is?"

"Yup, they've known each other since I was in kindergarten." Kenshin smiled, wiggling his legs that couldn't reach the floor.

Isamu didn't reply. Nar-sensei was okay… apart from being loud, and breaking the personal-space rules he was fine. Isamu didn't mind when he came inside the classroom wearing a brightly pink fluffy scarf or when he ruffled his hair during reading time. It wasn't annoying for Isamu; it was sort of… welcoming. He didn't mind when his teacher asked everyday if he was alright. Isamu never liked his teachers but Narumi was alright.

"Kenshin I must say, you do look adorable as an elf."

The feminine and calm voice startled Isamu out of his own thoughts, he looked at the flushed face of Kenshin looking behind his back, when he Isamu looked he saw Akemi Chihiro. The youngest daughter from the Chihiro Estate was smiling straightly at Kenshin, who seemed lost.

"Really?" he stuttered.

Hang on, Isamu arched his brow and stared pointedly at the brunette, "Oh so… you'll punch me but not her."

"Why would I punch her?!" Kenshin spluttered, confused with Isamu's words.

Akemi walked closer, "Kenshin would never hit a girl. He's kind." She smiled once again and stared at Kenshin with adoration and a short sigh.

The two boys blinked in unison and stared at each other. Then Isamu covered his mouth to hold his laughter. Kenshin just looked at the plate shyly.

"You think I'm kind?" he asked.

Akemi nodded, making her golden curly locks wave, "Yes, you protect Ran all the time.

"That's because she can't fight for herself and that ugly Nana is always messing with her, for some reason." Kenshin shrugged, "And she's also m best friend, nobody messes with my friends." He said proudly.

Akemi giggled and reached for a biscuit of the plate that Kenshin is holding, "Yes, absolutely a gentleman. That's why I like you." Then she leaned up, pulled Kenshin's shirt down and pecked his cheek. He was shocked and only reacted when Akemi walked away with a free biscuit on her hand.

With flushed cheeks, Kenshin looked at Isamu all flushed asking for some answers but the boy simply smirked.

"Well Ken, at least you can test your own cootie theory. Do you feel different?"

He paled, "W-What… but she… why did she… in my cheek…" he pressed his hand on his warm and kissed cheek and kept mumbling, "…why did she…?"

Then Ran entered the room with her parents and her two siblings, behind her were Natsume and Mikan, holding hands, and having a chat with the Asawara parents. The teenage boy looked almost bored but he had a smile on his face, he had a dark hair and brown eyes. The girl that was chatting with Ran was similar to the little girl, she had a long and wavy almond hair but her eyes were green. When Ran spotted the boys she smiled cheery and dragged her sister with her.

"Hey boys this is my sister, Saki!" she introduced.

Isamu looked up at her and smiled politely but Kenshin was still muttering. Saki looked at him concerned.

"Is your friend alright?" she asked.

Ran looked worried as well, "I don't know…" she turned to Isamu, "What happened?"

The boy smiled, "Kenshin has cooties."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah this is basically an opening for the future events. Also it's 4AM and I'm too tired to continue the next chapter. Tomorrow there'll be one!**

**Review for more!**

**Stay tuned**


	35. Enjoy It While You Can!

**A/N: *appears out of nowhere* Hey… so it's been a long time uh? **

**Yeah… my life hasn't been good. **

**I want to explain something about you guys receiving an alert that I updated, actually I had posted an author note that I was going to give up on this story, because that time I felt like shit and I really didn't had the happiness or motivation to write a new chapter. **

**But you know what happened? I checked the reviews.**

**Oh my God, first of all, I love you guys so much. So much positivity, encouragement…**

**I have almost 400 reviews; I have 145 favorites, 199 followers and 54,017 VIEWS?! **

**WHAT? **

**I thought to myself, 'damn I'll disappoint a lot of readers'. So I re-read my story carefully. I don't wanna sound vain by saying that I laughed and also cringed at my grammatical mistakes. But reading my own story made the sparkle that died appear again, that same sparkle that was on a younger me when I had the idea for this story just because I had a conversation with a young boy on a bus.**

**My life still sucks, but I'm back.**

**This story is back. **

**But I have to tell you something guys, I have college now and I'm trying to find a job so I'll promise to at least upload once a week. I'm begging you guys to be patient; even if I break my promise (again) I want you guys to know that this story will have an end.**

***drops mic***

**Enjoy this chapter. *leaves stage***

**(Quick reminder of the character's ages and the current timeline)**

**The date is December 17****th****, 2014.**

**Natsume: 30 years old. (He started with 29)  
Isamu: 8 years old. (Started with 7)**

**Mikan: 26 years old.  
Kenshin: 7 years old. **

**Ran: 7 years old. **

**Reo: 27 years old.  
Luna: 30 years old.**

* * *

"Dad this is my seat!" Isamu said as he pulled Natsume's hand, "I sit next to Ran." He smiled as he sat down on his desk, "Do you like it?"

Natsume was flabbergasted, his son was literally excited because of his seat, normally Isamu didn't even talk about school before they moved, "Yeah I like it. I also used to sit in the back of the class."

Isamu tried to imagine his dad being young but the image never formed, "Dad that's weird."

Natsume smiled fondly and patted his head, seconds later a smiling Mikan appeared in the scene with a pouty Kenshin holding her hand.

"Shin-chan said that he has cooties." She told Natsume amusedly.

"Oh really? Why?" he arched a brow.

Isamu snickered, "Akemi kissed his cheek."

Kenshin immediately glared at him, "Shut up!" he snapped, "It was yucky!"

"Yeah right, that's why you looked like a tomato when she left." Isamu retorted.

Ran joined the conversation, "Akemi-san did what?"

Kenshin jolted and Isamu grinned, "She kissed Ken's cheek."

Ran giggled, "Oh she has a crush on you!"

Mikan and Kenshin gasped at the same time, making Natsume blink at them.

"How do you know that?!" Kenshin almost yelled all flushed.

"Because she told me." She simply said, "She asked me if I was your girlfriend and I said no so now she wants to be your girlfriend."

"You guys are too young to be dating!" Mikan panicked, Natsume chuckled.

"Why Mikan, it's all innocent."

"There was no this is innocent Natsume!" Kenshin snapped, "Girls are scary and they always have some sort of dark side full of cooties!"

"Cooties don't exist!" Isamu and Ran said at the same time.

Kenshin pointed at Isamu, "Liar! You changed since Ran kissed you!"

Natsume's eyes widened, "What?"

Isamu stood up from his seat and glared at the brunette; "Shut up Kenshin!" he sounded nervous, "That was just an experience to shut you up! You're just jealous!"

"Oh dear." Mikan mumbled.

"Boys stop fighting!" Ran scolded with flushed cheeks.

Natsume pulled Mikan aside while the children talked, they shared a blank expression before both smirked.

"So… your son is stealing Ran-chan from Shin-chan?" she giggled.

"What? I don't even know." He said, "I can't believe he already had his first kiss. Damn… this girl is really that good? I mean she's cute but why does she mean so much to them?"

"Ran is very smart and has a motherly side; I think our boys like her because she's mature and doesn't act like the other girls." Mikan explained, "Between other things of course, it's only between them."

Natsume paused, "Maybe I should have 'the talk' with Isamu."

She blinked confusedly, "The talk? What talk?"

"You know… the talk." Natsume pushed with a suggestive smirk.

Mikan's cheeks flushed and her eyes widened, "That's too s-soon! He's still a kid!"

"I'm only kidding Mikan." He chuckled.

"Oh thank God…" she glanced at the children and sighed in relieve.

"Maybe next year." He added quickly.

"Natsume!"

* * *

The talent show was being extra boring for Kenshin, for some reason he had to watch Nana sing, she actually wasn't that bad but she still sucked as a person. Then some fifth graders played an original song from their band, it was awful, they thought they were a rock band so it was really loud, but nevertheless polite applause was heard and they left the stage.

At a certain point he poked his mother's arm, "Ma I need to use the bathroom."

"Can you go by yourself?" Mikan asked.

"Of course." He hopped from his seat and walked the row towards the exit, when he got outside he took a deep breath, it was really hot inside the auditorium.

Kenshin looked around, there was complete silence. Only the muffed sound coming from the doors behind him were the only noise. Shaking his head, he paced to the bathroom nearby. He did his business and he started to wash his hands, when he was done he heard a chuckle coming from outside.

He left the bathroom and saw a woman staring down at him, she was smiling, "Hello there. What are you doing here?"

He looked at her weirdly, "I needed to pee." He started to walk away but she continued to talk.

"Are you enjoying the talent show?" she asked.

He stopped walking and looked at her, "Ma says that I'm not supposed to talk with strangers."

"And your mother is certainly right. Mother knows best." She smirked.

"I know."

"But are you having fun sweetie?" she asked too sweetly.

He frowned, "Yes. I have to go." He turned again and decided to walk away faster.

"Enjoy it while you can!" she yelled behind him, Kenshin felt his stomach drop so he started to run with a scared expression.

He was running fast so when he bumped into someone, he fell on the ground with a nasty sound and heard a yelp in front of him. Kenshin looked at Akemi, she was sitting on the floor with a pained expression, but seconds later she stared at him and her expression grew surprised.

Feeling suddenly nervous, he stood up and helped her up. That made her smile and "accidently" she hovered onto him.

"Oh Kenshin, I think I hurt my foot…" she sighed with a pout.

He blinked and looked down, her leg seemed nice but how could he know if it hurt?

"Sorry…"

"Why were you running silly?" she looked behind him, "Was someone chasing you?" she added a giggle and Kenshin felt the urge to roll his eyes.

"No." he lied, "I just want to hurry back."

"Can you carry me?" she asked sweetly.

He shot his eyebrows up, "Are you crazy?!"

She sniffed, "You bumped into me and now my foot hurts, are you going to leave me?" she covered her face, "I thought you were nice."

He rolled his eyes for sure this time, "Fine, but only to the infirmary."

She cheered and wrapped her arms around his neck, Kenshin instantly screamed in panic.

"W-What are you doing?!" he looked at her horrified.

She blinked, "How are you going to carry me? I'm helping you."

"No! I'll give ya a piggy back!" his cheeks flushed. He had only given a piggy back to Ran.

"But I want you to carry me like a bride~" she smiled smoothly.

His amethyst eyes widened, "Bride?! You're not my bride!"

She chuckled, "No silly, I'm saying that I want you to carry me in your arms." She blushed, "And I would make a perfect bride!"

"You have cooties." He snorted, "And I'm only carrying you in piggy back." He turned around and bent over with his arm ready to carry her legs, "Can you jump to my back?"

She huffed and obeyed, "You're lucky you're cute."

"Don't do something stupid like kissing my cheek; I think you passed me cooties. Maybe that's why I'm carrying you." He mumbled with a pout. Kenshin just wanted to go back.

She giggled close to his ear; he made a disgusted face, "Did you like my kiss?"

"No. Did ya like the cookie?" he retorted with a smirk.

Akemi gasped, "You think I did it because of a cookie?" she sounded hurt.

"Yep." He replied without hesitating.

Kenshin could be naïve, blunt and a little slow but sometimes he could improve the opinion that people had on him by suddenly being smart about something. After Akemi left, he looked at his plate and saw the missing cookie, he was angry when he thought that Akemi passed him cooties only because of a stupid cookie, but then he felt another feeling that he couldn't describe, was he disappointed? Sad?

"You're a meanie." She mumbled, suddenly going quiet.

He didn't get girls, honestly. Ran was awesome; she wasn't like other girls even though she still had cooties, she would always say something interesting. Nana was always being mean and he didn't know why, she would show off and bully Ran, it seems like she always got acceptance by doing it so she gained followers, and soon she became really popular. The other girls were the same, they could only walk in group, call boys pests, play house and forcefully make a boy the husband, for Kenshin they were gross.

And then there's Akemi Chihiro.

She came from an Estate, so she's like a princess. The youngest of a large family and raised surrounded by wealth. Then why was she in this school? Why did she suddenly started to stare at Kenshin during classes, smile whenever he looked at her, try to get his attention and even pass him notes. Honestly Kenshin didn't mind, she befriended Ran and actually protected her a few times, he was glad for that so he put up with Akemi, but she crossed a dangerous line when she kissed his cheek.

Kenshin hated cooties.

Isamu had them, but Kenshin supposed that his were worse because Ran kissed his lips. Maybe Kenshin had hope since Akemi only pecked his cheek, maybe it would disappear after a bath. He sure hoped so.

He turned a corner and soon the infirmary doors appeared.

"We're here, now get out." He mumbled.

"W-Wait, can't you take me inside?" she sounded scared.

Kenshin made a weird face, but then he looked around. Everyone was watching the talent show so there was nobody around, his school so quiet actually looked…scary. He gulped, "Aye." He walked more and knocked on the door. Kenshin realized that Akemi wasn't even heavy.

Nobody opened the door.

He sighed and opened it anyway, it was unlocked.

"Hello?" he peeked inside, the infirmary was a small area with two beds, a sofa rested against the wall and two cabinets with the objects needed for minor injuries. He walked inside and looked around, the room smelled like disinfect. He walked to one of the beds and turned around, "Here, sit there and I'll look for the nurse."

Akemi obeyed but grabbed the back of his elf shirt before he walked away, "I'm scared."

He rolled his eyes again, "Akemi don't be a girl."

"I am a girl!" she pouted.

He smirked and walked towards the door, but when he was to leave he heard a voice. Thinking that it was the nurse he exited the infirmary and followed it, when he was about to cross a corner her saw the back of a woman, Kenshin's eyes widened.

It was that creepy woman from the bathroom.

He stepped back and hid behind the wall. She was talking with someone in front of her; from his spot he could see a man.

"So how long is this going to take?" the man asked.

"The principal told me that the show will end in twenty minutes." She replied. Kenshin shivered to her voice. Too sweet.

"Great, I can't wait to see their faces." The man chuckled.

"Yes~ It is indeed a big surprise darling. You're such a good man." She hugged him.

Kenshin easily saw the man's face, he recognized him from somewhere but he didn't know where.

"Of course they will it's not every day that you get a free concert from Reo Mouri himself." The man smirked as he kissed her neck.

* * *

**A/N: Well that felt good. **

**Reo is in the same building as Kenshin. **

**What will happen? What do you think of Akemi being all over Kenshin? **

**It's good to be back! Let me know what you think. **

**Reviews are always good but right now I just wanted to revive this story.**

**Pool results:**

**Kenshin: 7 votes.  
Isamu: 7 votes.  
Other boy: 1 vote.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	36. Kenshin's Confusion!

**To answer some of the reviews: Yes, Reo knows that Mikan was pregnant, that was one of the reasons why he broke up with her, re-read my story if you have forgotten about it. **

**Some of you like Akemi with Kenshin and others want him with Ran. That is so cute.**

**Poll results: (Who should Ran end up with)**

**Isamu: 10 votes.  
Kenshin: 12 votes.  
Other Boy: 1 vote.**

**Holy chocolate pudding, it seems like Kenshin is on the lead now!**

* * *

Kenshin didn't know why he ran back to Akemi after seeing that display but something inside him yelled at him to go away, that _man, _Reo Mouri gave him weird feelings. He didn't like the woman, she smelled like vanilla in a sickening way. Plus, she had been creepy, waiting for him when he left the bathroom.

When Kenshin turned the corner of the infirmary he bumped into someone – again. This time, it had been Isamu.

"There you are!" the boy scolded. Then he turned his head around. "I found Ken!"

"Oh thank goodness!" Mikan rushed and hugged her son tightly. "Don't wander off like that!"

Natsume, Isamu watched the two embrace and Akemi smiled brightly at him.

"Did ya find the nurse?" she asked.

He shook his head and looked up to his mother. "I… wanna go home," then he hid his face on her shoulder. "I don't feel good."

"Oh hun, you look pale." Mikan covered Kenshin's forehead with her palm. "You don't have a fever though…"

Natsume looked down at the boy with slight worry. Kenshin's enthusiastic expression seemed to change into a anxiety one.

"Did you see something bad?" the man asked.

Kenshin looked up at him with widened eyes, did he? Kenshin didn't know what he saw, it was a man kissing a girl full of cooties, but his name sounded familiar and his presence on the little boy's life made him a little uneasy.

"I dunno…" Kenshin shrugged. "I wanna go home." He told Mikan, more persistently this time.

"If Ken is going home I wanna go too dad." Isamu immediately said looking up at his father, Natsume nodded, not complaining at all.

"But the party's not over!" Akemi whined. "You're gonna miss the secret concert."

Kenshin's stomach made a summersault. "Dun care, go away ugly hag!" he hissed.

Akemi gasped.

"Shin-chan, apologize!" Mikan scolded, "That's not nice! Why are you acting like this?" Mikan pulled him closer and widened her eyes; she looked up at Natsume with a scared expression. "Natsume, he's trembling."

Natsume would be damned if he let something happen to someone he cares about, his fatherly instincts kicked in. He kneeled down and patted Kenshin's head. "Kenshin," he started, his voice stern, "Tell us what happened or so help me, there won't be a single sight of that disgusting plastic food you love."

Yeah, that's tough love for you.

Mikan blinked surprised, Isamu stared in horror and Akemi covered her mouth.

Kenshin gulped and looked at Natsume, almost in a challengingly way. "You can't do that."

Natsume cocked an eyebrow, "Oh really?"

"Y-Yeah, you're not my dad." Kenshin muttered sadly.

Natsume stared at him and sighed deeply. "I know, but I care about you as same as I care about Isamu."

Mikan smiled sweetly at her boyfriend, and Natsume saw it from the corner of his eye.

The brunette boy looked at Natsume hopefully. "Really? You care about me Natsume?"

"Of course I do," Natsume smiled. "So, can you please tell us what you saw? We're worried, all of us."

"Y-Yeah." Akemi admitted shyly.

Isamu nodded and smiled ghostly at his friend.

Kenshin smiled a little, then he inhaled, "When I walked out of the bathroom, an old hag-" Mikan sent him a look, "-uh lady talked with me in a weird way. Ma, I did what you said and walked away but then I bumped into Akemi and she hurt her leg so I had to carry her here," Natsume was amused with that part, "but the nurse was gone, I heard voices down the hall and I thought it would be the nurse so when I walked to the voices, it was that same woman hugging and kissing a man." Kenshin exhaled.

Mikan visibly paled, "Only hugging and kissing right?"

Kenshin nodded furiously, making his mom sigh in relief.

"Wait, what did the hag told you?" Isamu asked smartly.

Kenshin looked up thoughtfully, "Uhm… she asked if I was enjoying the talent show, and then I told her ma told me not to talk with strangers and then she said that mothers know best and then she asked it again and I said yes – but I walked away quickly – then she said… uh…" he looked uncomfortable.

Mikan smiled and nudged her son, "Go ahead Shin-chan."

"'Enjoy it while you can'" Kenshin finally blurted.

A red alert was sent all over Natsume's brain and Mikan literally shivered, completely dropping her smile. The adults exchanged a look but the children behind them looked confused.

"What does that mean?" Akemi asked.

"Hmm…" Isamu hummed thoughtfully, "Ran might know. But I think it's a threat."

Both Natsume and Mikan sent Isamu a sharp look, he flinched.

"Whaa?" Kenshin didn't seem frightened. "I never saw that lady!"

"Are you sure?" Natsume asked hiding his nervous voice.

Kenshin nodded. "She's not even from this school…"

Mikan stood up and grabbed her son's hand; she looked at Natsume with a serious and final expression. "I'm going home."

"Us too,"

Isamu looked at Akemi, "Oi, you should go back."

Akemi clenched her hands on her skirt and shook her head, "No! I want Kenshin to stay!" she sobbed. "My leg still hurts."

Before Natsume could reach and comfort her a new voice came inside the hall. They all looked at the figure standing ahead.

"Is everyone ok? I heard a crying." The male voice said.

Mikan paled and immediately turned around with an expression that Natsume could think as of someone without a soul. Kenshin yelped in surprise when he was suddenly dragged.

"Wait!" the male voice yelled. "Hey, wait!"

Mikan halted, then she cursed mentally. No… this couldn't be happening. Not now, everything was going so perfect now.

"Mikan…?"

She sighed deeply, then, with a turn, Mikan was able to send Natsume shivers from her expression and voice. Mikan looked like Hotaru on a bad day.

"Hello, Reo." She sneered, gripping on Kenshin's hand tightly.

Natsume widened his eyes and looked at the red-haired man.

_Oh sh-_

* * *

**A/N: *falls asleep on the laptop***

***Cowardly avoids explaining why hasn't she updated in a while***


	37. Quiet!

The air was tense. Natsume looked between Reo and Mikan then from Kenshin towards Isamu. This was bad, terrible, especially when Kenshin was giving the most confused expression he ever gave. Akemi just stood next to Kenshin, confused as well.

"You know him ma?" the brunette asked.

"Yes, I do…" she sighed, "Uhm…" Mikan's voice cracked and the confidence disappeared from her face, showing a petrified one instead, "Reo is… an old friend of mom."

Reo looked down at Kenshin and his eyes widened in realization, "W-Wait… is he?"

"Yes, this is _my _son." She cut him quickly.

Natsume felt like he should break the tension, "Isamu, why don't you take Akemi and Kenshin back to the party? I'm sure Ran is looking for you three." He ordered.

"But dad…" Isamu complained. But the look his father gave was final.

Kenshin looked up to his mother expectant. She nodded at him with a small smile. "Save me a cookie alright?" he nodded.

The children were gone quicker than ever.

Reo's amethyst orbs eyes Natsume with a gleam.

"So… is he your new boyfriend?" Reo asked, placing his hands on his jeans pockets.

"Yes, he is." Mikan replied dryly. Natsume walked to stand by her side.

Reo smiled at her, "You haven't changed a smidge, dove."

Natsume raised his eyebrow.

"Don't call me that!" she cringed, glancing at Natsume nervously.

Reo caught her glance and reminded himself that the man was present, he extended his hand towards him, "'Ello man, it's nice ta meet you."

Natsume stared at Reo's hand and nodded, "Sure, why not?"

Mikan blinked and Reo smirked amusedly.

"You know who I am?"

"Yeah… my son and I don't like your music." Natsume blunted out.

Reo chuckled, "'S alright, they're not for kiddies for his age anyways."

Natsume almost rolled his eyes.

"Then what are you doing here?" Mikan snapped softly, "This is an elementary school Reo!"

"I'm doing a surprise concert," he grinned, "For the kiddies."

"Oh really?" she asked surprised.

"Yup, my girl suggested it and my manager thought it was a good idea. Kinda nervous though, had to censor a few words for the songs I'll be singing." He said sheepishly, "And I had no idea this was _his _school. Small world eh?"

Mikan sighed in exasperation, "Of all the schools of the country…" she felt better once Natsume squeezed her hand, "I'm leaving."

"_We're_ leaving." Natsume corrected her softly.

"You're… really leaving? Why don't you stay for the concert?" Reo asked genuinely expectant.

"You _know _why!"

Reo was taken aback by her words. For once he was happy to see her again but due to the circumstances, this was not a happy moment.

"Mikan…"

"Don't—"

"He has the right to know!" Reo raised his voice a little, making Natsume growl at him and wrap a protective arm around her waist.

"Don't tell me what to do with _my _son!"

He flinched. "Ah give me a break will ya? I thought you understood!"

"I did, but dammit Reo, you could've at least payed for child support or visit him once a month! I could've gone to the press and tell the world what you did but I chose not to, I'm not cruel, I'm not you!" she sobbed, "You left Kenshin and I, you broke my heart! I was lucky that Hotaru existed in my life, without we could've starved!"

Natsume tightened his hold on her. He had never seen Mikan so sad.

"I think we better leave…" the raven haired man suggested.

Reo clenched his fists and glared at Natsume, "Hey mate, listen here—"

"No! Natsume is right, we're leaving." Mikan cleaned her tears with her sleeves, "We're leaving and so are you. I don't want you near Shin-chan you heard me? I have full custody over him so if I ever see you with him, you'll have to answer to my lawyer, and believe me… Hotaru will find one that will drain everything you own."

Natsume was surprised, he had never seen this side of Mikan, and he… liked it. He loved seeing her standing up for herself, and he reminded himself to thank Hotaru later, that witch was probably the one that brought out this side on the brunette… or maybe it's a family thing?

Reo frowned, "I was wrong, you did change dove. You're tainted now, there's no sweetness anymore."

Mikan scoffed, "Try being abandoned while pregnant by the man you loved, superstar." She started walking towards Reo while holding hands with Natsume, who followed her suit. She passed by the red-haired, but halted for a second, "It was nice seeing you again Reo, at least now I'll be able to say for you to have a nice life."

Reo didn't even turn around to watch her walk away.

* * *

**December 17****th****, Wednesday  
(Same day)**

**9:33PM**

**Hyuuga Apartment**

Kenshin quietly brushed his teeth next to Isamu, who was looking at him strangely. After the encounter, the couple did leave the party and unfortunately Ran stayed behind with her family. Mikan didn't want to go home alone with Kenshin so Natsume immediately said yes when she asked if she could stay at his place. Natsume drove the Yukihira's back to their apartment to pick up some pajamas and clothes for the next day and the hygienic essentials, Mikan also took care of Aiden, giving him more water and food to last the night.

When they arrived to the Hyuuga residence, everyone noticed how awfully quiet Kenshin was and Mikan felt guilty about it. Natsume and she tried to cheer him up, they ordered pizza, played a few board games with the boys and watched Kenshin's favorite movie.

Isamu was now starting to be impatient; little did he know that he was actually worried. Too young to understand that, the boy simply spit the water to wash his mouth and glared at the brunette.

"What's wrong with you?"

Kenshin blinked, like he was brought back from another dimension, "Uh?"

"Uh? You've been too quiet! Does your belly hurt or something?"

"N-No…" the boy quickly proceeded to do the process of brushing his teeth. When done he cleaned his mouth on the towel from the hook nearby the sink, ignoring the staring from Isamu.

"Are you suuuure?" he pressed.

"Yeah I'm sure!" Kenshin snapped, leaving the bathroom towards Isamu's bedroom. The apartment was only lightened with the dim yellow light from the living room, where Natsume and his mom were currently on, cuddling on the couch.

"Goodnight Shin-chan!" Mikan yelled when she saw him pass by.

"N-Night ma!" the boy instantly replied, quickening his pace.

Isamu followed suit.

"Goodnight son,"  
"Sleep well Isamu-kun!"

"Night!" he replied to both of them.

Closing the door behind him, he was now alone in the room with Kenshin, who was already under the sheets of _his _bed.

"Hey what are you doing? You're sleeping on the floor!" he remarked, pointing at the blanket-made bed settled next to Isamu's bed.

"You sleep there, I'm your guest." Kenshin's voice muttered under the sheets.

"You didn't mind sleeping there when Ran did." Isamu smirked.

Kenshin rose into a sitting position quickly with already a bed hair, "_YOU _didn't mind it either!" he growled.

Isamu rolled his eyes, "Scoot over then, I'm not sleeping on the floor."

Kenshin looked at him angrily, "No way! I'm not sleeping with you!" he shrieked.

"Why not? You're tiny, we can share it." Isamu sad nonchalantly, already climbing to his bed.

"N-No! No, nope, you can't!" Kenshin tried to push him.

"Are you homophobic Ken?"

Kenshin was about to complain when the new and unknown word stopped him, "What does that mean?" he asked warily.

"Uhm," Isamu seemed to be remembering, "It means that you don't like gay people. I heard dad call that to a client once. He explained it to me."

"Gay people? Like Mr. Narumi right?"

"Yeah! Boys that like boys and girls that like girls," Isamu nodded. "Do you hate them?"

Kenshin blinked, "No! It's not because of tha—you don't have cooties! I hate cooties, not gay men!"

"Then why won't you let me share the bed?"

Kenshin looked down, "Because…"

"C'mon Ken, tell me…" Isamu pressed, sitting next to the boy.

"You'll laugh."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"I swear!"

"Fine…" Kenshin inhaled, "I… feel like crying…" he exhaled.

Isamu blinked, but he let him continue.

"That man, Reo, the singer?" Isamu nodded, "I saw him before ma did and he made me feel weird… then ma was looking at him and I never saw her like that and I think… I think ma doesn't like him for a reason because when she said he was a friend that was a lie."

"Why?"

"Because ma makes friends for life and she would've told me about Reo if he was really her friend." Tears started to form in his violet eyes, "S-So I don't know… I don't know how to feel about that man. I think he's bad but then I think he's not… is he the Boogie Man?" fat and crystallized tears slide down his cheeks.

Isamu gulped, "I don't know Ken… but if he is, he's the famous Boogie man."

Kenshin nodded. "He was speaking in a weird was too."

Isamu grinned, "Aye he was."

The two ended up lying together anyways, and Isamu did what he promised, he didn't laugh. Kenshin fell asleep first. He glanced at the boy sleeping peacefully by his side. That was the first time he saw Kenshin so… broken. Apart from that day at the movies a month ago, this time had been more intense. Isamu frowned at that, teasing aside, this was his first real friend and he cared about him. He couldn't let Kenshin lose his stupid contagious grin and his happy personality.

Was Kenshin truly like this? Was the boy finally breaking?

* * *

**Sorry for the delay! **


	38. Welcome Home!

**To my reviewers ****Yuna**** and ****StarElsie****: Oh my freaking God. I can't believe you guys are starting to ship Isamu and Kenshin together. It made my day when more than one person spots a complete overshadowed and possible pair, the power of shipping in strong in you two. You two made me see how cute it would be if they ended up together but unfortunately it's not in my plans towards the story. **

**However, I could write a non-canon side chapter in the future, maybe when I wrap up this arc or when they become older. Anything for my readers :) (And the fact that I'd think it would be hella cute)**

**If anyone else secretly ships those two dorks together as well, first, don't be scared to tell me and second, here's a question for you:**

**Who do you think it would top? Kenshin or Isamu?**

**I would never imagine making this question.**

**We're almost at chapter 40, I never, in my writing days, reached so far on chapters in a story. This has been a journey uh? Do you think I got better with the grammar?**

* * *

**December 20th, 2014  
(Three days later)**

**Saturday**

**10:12AM**

Ruka sighed as he waited patiently for his luggage to show at the baggage claim at the airport. He was tired, jetlagged but he was happy nevertheless. Why he was back in Japan, his home.

After claiming his single but large baggage, he strolled it down onto the terminal exit, where he proceeded to search for an available taxi.

It was snowing when the taxi hit the freeway in direction towards the city, he smiled a little at the sight - how he had missed it. He couldn't wait to see Natsume and Isamu, and certainly he was hoping his best friend would introduce him to the famous Mikan and her son Kenshin.

He had spent twelve hours on a plane and he just wanted to crash in his comfortable bed but he couldn't, it was morning and he couldn't afford confusing his body with the timeline.

Ruka however, was genuinely happy to see them again, he spend the last month around business people and fake friends and… flirty women. Unfortunately none of them really… sang to him. Ruka knew well enough that there are many gold diggers out there, he wasn't naïve. He felt horrible for saying it but he did not wanted to end up like Natsume, who was victim of a really good actress.

God knows how much he loves Isamu. He's like a nephew to him. But whenever he thought that Luna went far enough to give Natsume a son, he would fear for his own heart.

"We're here sir."

Ruka was almost startled to hear Japanese again, with a sense of peace he replied a thank you in Japanese as well and offered the driver a generous tip before exiting the taxi.

He was home.

* * *

**10:46AM**

Natsume rubbed his burning eyes from exhaustion. He had been reviewing the company's work for the past two hours at his office from his apartment. Isamu was currently still sleeping; the boy deserved it after waking up every day at six in the morning.

Natsume smiled when he remembered the sleepy expression on his son's face.

He stood up from his chair and walked to his high-tech kitchen, suddenly missing Mikan's laughter around him, he prepared her favorite beverage: hot chocolate. Three days ago, things fell down the hill when that bastar—no.

Natsume clenched his hand tightly around the powered cocoa.

_Reo. _He had to remind himself to not call him worst than a bastard around his son or Mikan. She didn't like cuss words, at least in the presence of their sons.

He had never seen Mikan so… brilliant. She wasn't scared in front of Reo, she was determinant and fierce and she completely shut Reo's pipe hole, Natsume still smirked when he recalled Mikan and him walking away from a stunned… what was it that she called him? Oh right, _superstar._

Of course that she broke down when he brought her home, after the children went to sleep she cried in his arms, last time he felt so protective over someone was with Isamu when he cried over how unfair it was that he had a shitty mother.

Isamu didn't say shitty but that's what Natsume thought of her.

But three days ago, the woman – his girlfriend – that cried until her eyes were red and swollen and her nose was red. She was embarrassed after of course, but he was able to convince her that he didn't mind, actually, Natsume was happy that she trusted him enough to show this side of her to him.

He couldn't believe that it had only been a month since they started dating.

It felt like years. He already saw Kenshin as his son.

Natsume dropped the spoon on the floor with that sudden thought.

It scared him. He was getting attached to the two Yukihira's. He remembered Isamu's birthday and how his parents quickly approved of her. So quickly… who was this woman?

Who was this cute brunette? Did he really deserve her? What did he knew about her? She was four years younger than him, only being twenty-six. She was mother at the age of nineteen and Reo abandoned her to proceed with his career.

That left a bitter taste when he sipped on his beverage.

Then he also knew that she worked for that witch, Hotaru Imai as her P.A. He knew that she lived on the two-bedroom small but cozy apartment nearby the suburban area of the city. She and Kenshin owned a chubby white cat named Aiden.

He also knew that she was most honest and beautiful woman he had ever seen. With her long and curly chocolate hair and her expressive and soulful eyes hazel eyes – the only ones that pierced his heart a month ago. Then she had to have a bad past that she didn't deserve.

_What the hell was that idiot thinking on leaving her? _He thought grimly.

But in a way, he was glad he did. Or Mikan could have never entered his life.

And oh, there was the most important thing he knew about Mikan: she made Isamu happy.

Isamu was the one that invited Mikan and Isamu for dinner, he then dragged Kenshin and Ran into this silly plan and Natsume always laughed a little, it had been so cute. He tried to be serious when he had a certain conversation with his son about that.

He was growing up so fast…

Natsume was so glad he moved here.

Not only Isamu found two good friends, he also… had a crush on one of them. Yeah, Natsume wasn't dumb; he saw it from miles away.

Ran was a cute and smart girl and his son had grown affectionate towards her. Natsume was surprised; his son was popular between girls. There was no denying in that. Every Valentine's Day Isamu would come home with an annoyed frown and chocolate that lasted for days. He never showed interest, one of the main reasons was because he was still too young to think about girls other than annoying creatures.

Kenshin was the proof alive, that boy thought that every person with the (XX) chromosome had cooties, except for his dear ma. Natsume was amused whenever the brunette complained about it so much and yet, he was overly jealous when Ran payed more attention to his son than him.

But there he was, his son, liking a girl.

He felt his heart tighten.

He knew it wasn't serious, maybe a mild crush. However, he thought how amusing it would be to see Kenshin and Isamu fight for attention – the two cared for each other but they also had a love-hate relationship.

Natsume shook his head and moved to stand in front of one of the large windows of the living-area while he sipped.

It was not his usual black-coffee; this beverage was sweet and left his interior warm and fuzzy.

Suddenly he heard the doorbell from his door ring.

Confused, he placed the cup on the coffee table as he walked towards the inter-communicator.

"What?" he snapped.

"Sacré bleu, Nattie, is this a bad time?" the voice chuckled.

His eyes widened, he tried to spot someone in the camera, "Ruka? Is that you?" his voice became excited.

The face of his best friend popped in the black and white screen with a huge smile on his face, "Now let me in cochise!"

Natsume never pressed the button to buzz him in so quickly.

One minute later, the blonde half-French was exiting from the elevator in Natsume's penthouse floor. The door was open so a confused Ruka waltzed inside the house, settling his luggage by the entrance.

"Natsume—OOF."

Ruka was taken back when he was taken down by an arm wrapped around his neck; he winced when he felt a fist rubbing his hair quickly.

"_Hé crétin, je vous manqué_! **(Hey moron, I missed you!)**" Natsume boomed in French while he rubbed Ruka's hair in an arm lock.

"Ah let go! Let me go you ant!" Ruka chuckled as he struggled against him.

And the man did, after pulling him into a tight hug, "It's nice to see you!"

Ruka was surprised how much affection Natsume was showing, he definitely changed a lot since he left for France.

"You too." The two broke the hug and smiled at each other, "Where's Isamu?" he looked around while Natsume went back to close the door.

"He's still sleeping, enjoying the vacation and all."

"Not for long, I'll definitely wake him up." His blue eyes stared at the hall where the boy's bedroom was.

"Wait," Natsume said before he could move, "Eat something first."

Out of a cliché cue, Ruka's stomach stated to growl, "Ah… yeah okay, I'll eat first. If you insist." He grinned.

* * *

**11:20AM**

"So he was actually at Isamu and Kenshin's elementary school?! Oh my God, that's so… it's too much of a coincident to be honest." He shook his head before sipping on his latte.

Ruka couldn't believe in the adventure that Natsume had for the past month, he missed a lot. From meeting Mikan to gaining feelings for her to the dramatic story of her past and the funny moments… and then what led towards Reo Mouri. He knew who the Popstar was, he was globally famous. But to think that he did something like this seven years ago, he seemed so nice on television.

"Or it's just my unlucky nature," Natsume grumbled. "Oh but you should've seen her, she was so fierce and brave when facing him." He smirked, "She let the bastard completely stunned."

Ruka noticed how proud Natsume sounded and he couldn't help but to smile at his happiness.

"That's great Natsume." He placed the cup on the island table and turned at him, "So, when can I meet her?"

"Well, she's leaving tomorrow at dawn to her hometown to spend Christmas with her parents but she'll be back on the 26th." Natsume explained vaguely.

Ruka snickered, "Don't tell me you wanted her to spend Christmas with you and Isamu."

Natsume looked down, "Hn…"

He chuckled, "Isn't that going a bit fast?"

They were both quiet for a moment.

"I guess," Natsume admitted reluctantly.

"Don't worry Natsume, I'm sure she'll miss you too." The French took another sip from his latte, finishing it, "Well, since I took a fabulous breakfast, I will now wake up your son and tease him about the Christmas gifts he'll think I never bought." He got out from the stool and practically skipped ahead, "Au revoir!"

Natsume rolled his eyes, "You spoil him too much."

* * *

**RUKA IS BACK. RUKA IS STAYING.**

**Finally, the RukaxHotaru will start happening, you only waited what, almost forty chapters to finally see it? XD **

**The process will be slow because well, Hotaru but I assure you that they will fall in love… eventually. **

**Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Tsubasa and Misaki and their family, they will be important but not at the moment. **

**Thank you for the support and sorry for the grammatical mistakes!**

**Stay tuned!**


	39. Christmas Eve!

**Christmas is not widely celebrated in Japan as not many people there are Christians. However, several customs have come to Japan from the USA such as sending and receiving Christmas Cards and Presents.**

**In Japan, Christmas in known as more of a time to spread happiness rather than a religious celebration. Christmas Eve is often celebrated more than Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is thought of as a romantic day, in which couples spend together and exchange presents. In many ways it resembles Valentine's Day celebrations in the UK and the USA. Young couples like to go for walks to look at the Christmas lights and have a romantic meal in a restaurant - booking a table on Christmas Eve can be very difficult as it's so popular.**

**Source: **

**A/N: Well, I should've made my research first uh? But I guess that in my story I write stuff that come from the US sometimes even when everything's happening in Japan. **

**Good thing Mikan comes from a homey family that loves Christmas. I tried to search when do the Japanese open theirs presents because in my country we open them at the night of Christmas Eve but in America they open their presents in Christmas morning. So I'm gonna do it in the American way, I hope you guys don't mind D:**

**And yes! Two chapters in a day! **

* * *

**December 24****th****, 2014**

**2:23PM**

**Yukihira Household, Kansai Region**

**Asamura Village, Kyoto Prefecture**

Kenshin boredly blew the foam from his hot chocolate mug. He was currently sitting on the leather couch from his grandparent's family room.

His grandparent's house was small, two-bedroom one that Izumi had bought in the early days of his marriage with Yuka. It has only one bathroom at the top of the stairs. Mikan's room was at the west of the house, now a guestroom where Mikan and Kenshin shared for the past three days. The room faced out the front yard, where the porch and brick driveway could be seen. At the back of the house there's a small, square yard that when someone heads east on foot across it, they would reach the ever-encroaching forest. Downstairs, it has a handkerchief-sized family room with a small fireplace, above it there's a sequence of pictures of Mikan getting older and Kenshin's baby photos together with their wedding picture. The room adjoins to the small kitchen. The kitchen had an old square oak table with four chairs and the kitchen's cabinets were bright yellow. The only tech involved in the kitchen was an old but functional microwave and a blender.

Kenshin was in the living room, the room only seemed to focus on the large HD plasma TV, probably the most expensive object in the household, and where Izumi loved to watch soccer games with his friends.

While her son was downstairs, Mikan was busy on remembering her childhood around her old bedroom. It had a wooden floor, light pink walls and a peaked ceiling and in many ways hasn't changed since she was born. The lace curtains on the window were purple but they became yellowed with age, and the rocking chair from Mikan's baby days was still in the corner, holding her purse. Hers and Kenshin's clothes were stored in the old pine dresser. The only thing that changed was that the switched her crib for a double-bed and added a desk.

"It hasn't changed uh?"

She turned to look at her dad, leaning in the doorway while smiling affectionately at her, "It seems like you never left."

She smiled sadly, "Oh daddy… Don't say those things. Today is a happy day."

"I know, I know… but you rarely visit us so it's always a big thing when you do." He said, making her feel guilty.

Her father was a 6'3 blonde man with bright blue eyes – he was also very handsome, so he was popular around the village.

"Sorry Mimi, didn't mean to make you guilty or something." He involved her in a bear hug and kissed her head, "Anyways, ya mom says if you want hot chocolate, she just made it."

"I always want hot chocolate, even if I have a stomachache."

He laughed hoarsely and accompanied her downstairs, when the scent of chocolate hit Mikan's nose her bittersweet mood elevated into a happy one immediately, she jumped the last three steps, startling Kenshin a little.

"Hey ma!" he said a little shaken. His bored trance had been interrupted.

"Hey sweetie, you want some—oh you're already drinking it!" she pouted, placing her hands on her hips.

He didn't even looked sorry, "Oh… grandma said I could drink it."

"Is it good?" she grinned.

He nodded quickly, "Yep!"

"Better than mine?" she asked, feigning a sad expression.

"No!" he exclaimed without hesitating.

"I heard that!" Yuka shouted from the kitchen.

"Good!" Mikan shouted back, wearing a huge smile.

Izumi moved to sit next to his grandson while Mikan disappeared to the kitchen to get her own mug.

"What are ya watching sports?" he asked.

"Steven Universe." Kenshin replied, taking another sip, "Though it's a re-run, no new episode until next year…" he mumbled disappointedly.

"Well that's in seven days so you won't have to wait much," Izumi chuckled, watching the cartoon.

Kenshin lips raised a little, but not enough to be a smile. Upon noticing that, Izumi frowned. Since his daughter arrived, his grandson wasn't the same as last time. He was more quiet and unmoving, always with a thoughtful expression. Maybe he missed his friends?

"So what's wrong buddy? You miss someone back home?"

Kenshin was hesitant, but he eventually nodded.

"Is it that cute little girl?" Izumi and Yuka knew about Ran, Mikan tells them everything.

Kenshin's cheeks flushed a little, but he only shrugged. "Not only… I miss Isamu too. Even though I hate him."

Izumi tried not to snort, "Are you sure you hate him?"

"…No. I don't…" he admitted, remembering when Isamu didn't laugh when they talked the other night. He didn't hate him, how could he?

"I see. Well I didn't know how much you disliked hanging out with us…" Izumi teased.

Kenshin looked at him surprised, "N-No I love grandma and you! And I like Christmas here it's just…" Isamu was the only one that knew about his "secret". He didn't even tell Ran, he hasn't seen her since the party because her family travelled out of the country for Christmas.

They would only see each other in New Year now. Ran's parents were also invited for Hotaru's party so they would spend the night playing with the other children for more parents that were invited. Ran's siblings would be there too but they usually hanged out on their own with their phones, Kenshin was still confused about that, he didn't know what was so special about phones. He liked the games at her mother's had but that was it, finite.

"Just?" Izumi pressed gently.

Kenshin shook his head, "Nothing, I just miss them." He lied. Feeling immediately guilty, he rarely lied.

And Izumi knew he was lying, but deciding to not press for the answer and upset him in Christmas Eve, he decided to let go and ask Mikan later, "Alright then," he glanced at the Christmas tree standing in the corner next to the TV, "You see that big blue one?" he said, nodding at the largest present under it.

"Yeah…" Kenshin replied, looking at it as well.

"It's yours." Izumi patted his head.

Kenshin's eyes sparkled, "R-Really?"

"Yep! It's a gift from your grandma, your mom and I."

"Wow! All three of you bought me a present?!" he exclaimed, imagining what awesome thing it was.

"Yes sir we did." the fifty-two-year-old boomed happily, contaminated by his grandson's excitement, "You're just like your mother."

Kenshin blushed embarrassedly, "Really? Everyone says that… even Mr. Hyuuga."

"Mr. Hyuuga?" Izumi blinked.

He nodded, "Ma's boyfriend,"

"YOUR MOTHER'S WHAT?!"

* * *

**2:45PM**

Natsume shivered and looked around.

"You okay?" Ruka asked worriedly.

"Yeah I just… had the feeling that someone was watching me or something…"

"Oh! Your ears are red," Ruka chuckled, "Someone's talking about you."

"Yeah dad, your ears are so red!" Isamu snickered.

Natsume, Ruka and Isamu were currently sitting at one of the thousand round tables in the food court at the mall. The whole place was decorated for the holiday and packed with couples and people enjoying the day. The weather outside was a complete chaos though, a snow storm had hit the city but fortunately that all happened while they were inside.

Natsume had gotten himself a plate of curry, Ruka was eating a Brazilian all-you-can-eat buffet and Isamu was eating a Happy Meal with double fries. The kid loved French fries.

"Whatever," Natsume complained, checking his phone for the twentieth time.

Ruka noticed, "You expecting a call or a text Nattie?"

"Shut up man,"

Isamu checked his too, "Oh, Ran says that there was a thunderstorm in the sea, she says that it was the most amazing thing she ever saw." He frowned.

He's been receiving texts from the girl for the past hour, she didn't had a phone so her mother borrowed hers, Isamu on the other hand, was using Ruka's phone because Natsume was expecting a call from a certain brunette.

"Oh really, that sounds cool!" Ruka said.

"Yeah," Natsume nodded, imagining how could a thunderstorm in the ocean look like.

"She loves thunders…" he mumbled, "How can she love it? It's so loud…" he texted her back.

Natsume and Ruka shared a look and smiled.

"Eat your lunch kiddo, or we're gonna be late for the movie." Natsume said.

"Fine, thanks for borrowing your fun Uncle Ruka," Isamu gave him a shy smile when he returned the expensive phone to its owner.

"No problem, if she texts back I'll tell you."

The boy nodded while munching on his hamburger with flushed cheeks, he was swinging his legs under the table, "Hey dad," he paused a little to swallow the content on his mouth, "You think that Ken and Ms. Yukihira are having fun?"

"Huh-uh." Natsume nodded.

"I miss them. Especially that—" he was about to say crybaby in a teasing way but… he recalled that night, when he didn't like the way Kenshin cried. "… Ken, I miss Ken…" he muttered, taking a sip of his lemon Iced Tea.

"I miss them too buddy…" Natsume sighed while looking at his phone's screen, "I miss them too…"

* * *

**5:23PM**

_**Sorry I didn't call you today, Shin-chan told my dad about you and me and he was so worried! I wish I could've told him myself but Shin-chan didn't know it was a secret… fortunately daddy seems to believe me when I told him that you're nothing like Reo, because that was is main worry. D:**_

_**xxx**_

_**Received: 5:22:54  
12-24-2014  
from: Mikan Y. **_

He sighed in relief. Natsume glanced at his son watching TV and heard Ruka preparing a sandwich in the kitchen.

_**It's okay that you didn't call me today and I'm sorry that you didn't get to tell you parents like planned. I'm glad your dad doesn't see me as that idiot. How's Kenshin? Isamu told me he missed him. **_

_**Sent: 5:24:32  
12:24:2014  
to: Mikan Y.**_

Isamu chuckled at a scene and snuggled closer around the blanket around him, Natsume smiled at him.

_**Aaww that is so sweet! Shin-chan also misses him even though he won't admit it! Don't worry about that, he might sound scary but he's a cinnamon roll :9 He wouldn't harm a fly ^^b**_

_**Received: 5:25:22  
12-24-2014  
from: Mikan Y.**_

Natsume scoffed at her text, yeah right, "cinnamon roll" his ass. He was sure his dad would actually murder for his little girl, Natsume would do the same for Isamu.

_**One more day and then you're mine again. **_

_**Sent: 5:25:58  
12-24-2014  
to: Mikan Y.**_

He was curious in how she would reply to that.

_**Don't send me things like that! My face is burning! o/o''**_

_**Received: 5:26:34  
12-24-2014  
from: Mikan Y.**_

He smirked.

_**I wish I could see your face right now. I miss kissing you and biting your neck.**_

_**Sent: 5:26:52  
12-24-2014  
to: Mikan Y.**_

He froze when he started to feel a pressure in his stomach. He glanced at Isamu and cursed mentally, what was he doing around his son? He blamed Mikan; she brought this side out of him. And the fact that they haven't slept together yet made it worst.

_**I miss kissing you too…**_

_**Received: 5:27:44  
12-24-2014  
from: Mikan Y.**_

He groaned. Natsume could feel her cute whining from here.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok?"

"Sure," he stood up. "Just need to use the bathroom."

"You know what curry does dad," Isamu joked lightly.

_Yeah, sure, the curry; _Natsume thought urgently.

Natsume needed some kind of release, not from his half-boner but emotionally as well. How could he miss her so much? It's only been three days since she left and for him it felt like three months instead, what was happening with him?

He locked himself in his suite and texted her back.

_**Mikan, come back tomorrow, please… **_

_**Sent: 5:29:04  
12-24-2014  
to: Mikan Y.**_

He paced in front of his wall-window, where the view to the city was amazing. The sky was grey and the storm had calmed down, leaving the city totally white.

_**Why? **_

_**Received: 5:29:26  
12-24-2014  
from: Mikan Y.**_

He gulped, this was it.

_**Because I want you, I don't want to pressure you into sex, but I want you, in any way. **_

_**Sent: 5:29:44  
12-24-2014  
to: Mikan Y.**_

"Shit…" he cursed softly, he felt like a teen again. Mikan made him feel… insecure.

He paced more when two minutes passed after he sent his text, maybe she was scared. He scared her. He was already thinking on an excuse for her ignore what he just texted, but when his phone vibrated with her reply, his stomach dropped.

_**I want you too, in every way possible.**_

_**See you on the 26**__**th**__**, xxxo **_

_**Received: 5:31:37  
12-24-2014  
from: Mikan Y.**_

* * *

**A/n: *insert that popular pervy face here***

**It seems like the date is set, but does everything ever goes accord to the plan in my story? With two kids and Ruka around?**

**Let's see!**

**Next chapter is Christmas! I can't believe I'm almost in 2015 on this story, and we're almost in 2016, crazy!**


	40. Merry Christmas!

**December 25****th****, 2014**

**Hyuuga Residence**

**6:34AM**

It was raining heavily when Natsume was jolted awake by none other than his son. The man stared at him and the boy stared back, both were silent. Then Isamu sleepy face broke into a grin with his crimson eyes twinkling, Natsume couldn't help but to give him a sleepy smile back.

"It's Christmas," the boy announced.

"Go to sleep brat, the sun ain't even up yet." Natsume retorted jokingly.

"But it's Christmas!" he whined, "I can't sleep."

Natsume chuckled, suddenly pulling his son under the warm blankets with him, "Sleep," he whispered, hugging him tightly.

Isamu struggled while giggling, "Dad let go! It's Christmas we can't stay in bed!"

All Natsume did was close his eyes and fake an exaggerated snore.

"Dad?" Isamu crawled his way under the blankets into Natsume's bare feet, "Last warning."

Natsume smirked, eyes still closed. Then he yelped then Isamu started tickling his feet, "Isamu!"

"Wake up!" Isamu said from down under, "Or else I won't stop!"

Natsume struggled not to break into a fit of laughter, he kept dodging his son's small hands but Isamu was fast, "Okay! Alright, I'm awake!" he breathed between chuckles, "I'm awake!"

Isamu stopped and crawled back up, his head popped next to the vacant side of his father's king-sized bed. Natsume snorted when his son's hair was everywhere, all messy and spiky.

"You need a haircut." He affirmed, running his hand through his son's silky hair.

"_You _need a haircut!" Isamu retorted childishly, chuckling as he tossed his father's hand away, "Now c'mon!" the boy climbed Natsume like he was a mountain and hopped to the ground, where he placed his Hulk slippers on, "We have presents to unwrap!"

Natsume shook his head, the only time of the year where he could see his son act so happy-go-lucky was in Christmas, he almost looked like Kenshin right now. He felt his hand being pulled and with no hesitation he stumbled his way up the bed while being dragged by his tiny-self into the living room.

* * *

**Yukihira Household, Asamura Village**

**6:44AM**

"Shin-chan slow down or we'll both fall from the stairs!" Mikan warned half-heartedly as her son dragged her to the family room.

Aiden was jolted awake from the couch when the boy stomped noisily down the steps, "But ma you're late! Grandma and grandpa are already waiting for us!" he whined happily.

Mikan was happy that he had let her sleep an extra hour this year, "Oh honey, why didn't you say so?" she giggled, playing along.

"You were sleeping so much that I almost pushed you from the bed!"

"Would you really do that?"

"…no. But I imagined it!" He admitted.

True to be said, Kenshin seemed to be like himself this morning. He was full of life and the sun wasn't even up yet. Mikan seemed relieved, she wanted to talk with him about his quietness but at the same time she did no wanted to ruin Christmas for her son. Her theory about Kenshin's sudden quietness was supported when Izumi approached her saying that Kenshin was definitely hiding something. She was worried, of course, but like always, she didn't want to ruin Kenshin's favorite holiday.

Like Kenshin said, Izumi and Yuka were already sitting in the three seated couch waiting for them, Aiden was purring while lying on Yuka's lap, she kept petting between his white ears.

"I have ma!" Kenshin announced.

"Good job sport, it always took a load of time to wake her up for school," Izumi said happily.

"Or to anything else," Yuka added with a sweet smile and mocking eyes.

"Mom! Dad!" Mikan spluttered, "That's not true!"

"Don't lie in front of your child, Mikan." Yuka feigned a disapproving sigh.

"Let's open the presents!" Kenshin suddenly interjected impatiently.

"Yes sir!" Izumi boomed, "Shall I play as Santa?"

"No! I give the presents," Kenshin demanded, "Ma sit down, okay?" he asked sweetly.

"Alright," Mikan chuckled, taking a seat next to her mother in the couch.

Kenshin kneeled down in front of the Christmas tree and grabbed a small squared present wrapped in a shiny red paper with a lilac bow, "First one is for…"

* * *

**7:03AM**

"…uncle Ruka! First present is for you." Isamu announced, smiling at the blonde sitting on the couch with a mug of vanilla latte on his hand, "Here!" the boy handed the gift carefully, "It's from dad."

Natsume sat straighter.

"Merci Isamu," Ruka placed the mug on the coffee table and unwrapped the gift, his eyebrows went up when he saw the sight of the brand new Rolex, Ruka was a vivid fan of wristwatches, "Natsume, w-wow!"

"You're welcome," the man smirked.

Ruka chuckled and patted his best friend's shoulder, "Thank you so much, I love it. I wanted to buy it for a long time now…" his blue eyes kept admiring the watch like it was a precious and fragile diamond, "I'll treasure this."

"Good," Natsume nodded content that his friend loved the present but embarrassed at the same time, "Isamu, next one please."

"'Kay pops." Isamu grabbed another squared one, "This one's for me!" he said excitedly, ripping the wrapping quickly, "No way!" he gasped, "I wanted this game so much! Ken is gonna flip!" he smiled so hard that his cheeks hurt.

"That one is from your grandma, I was going to get it but she got it first," Natsume explained when his son forgot the read who was it from.

Isamu hugged his present and placed it carefully next to him, "Alright! Next one is for…"

And so it continued. Natsume got a clay portrait that Isamu made in school as a Christmas project, the size was rectangular so it was able to fit a large photo, in the right corner below, it said 'from Isamu, to dad' and it was painted in dark blue. It wasn't perfectly shaped and the color was painted in a messy way but did Natsume cared? No. This was one of the best presents he had gotten; it warmed his heart to see that his son decided to make something with love instead of buying. Isamu also got two action figures, two jumpers, three new pair of jeans, two pair of shoes, two movies and a large Milka milk chocolate tablet. Ruka's presents were in his house but from Isamu he got dream catcher.

"I'm hungry…" Isamu suddenly announces, eyeing the chocolate tablet.

"Too early for chocolate buddy," Natsume cuts, "How about some pancakes?" he looks at Ruka, for he is the only one who can cook them into perfection.

"With chocolate syrup?" Ruka asks.

"Yes!" Isamu paused, "But don't use _my_ chocolate…" he mumbled, taking a protective hold around the tablet.

"Are you thinking on eating that by yourself?" Natsume asked.

Isamu blinked, "Nope, I'll share it with that idiot and Ran."

"What about us?" Ruka asked, feigning hurt in his voice.

Isamu shrugged, "Dad doesn't like chocolate much and you have Ferrero Rocher uncle Ruka."

Natsume grinned at his blonde friend, "Burn,"

* * *

**7:10AM**

After opening every presents, it was time to open the big squared one that Kenshin dreamt of. As he ripped the wrapper, Mikan used her phone to record his reaction, and she wouldn't regret doing it so.

When her son saw the words 'Playstation 3' written on the box he freaked out, he let out squeals and started rolling on the ground while screaming happily, then he stood up and started hopping around, throwing himself to his grandparent's laps while laughing and letting out a few squeals, poor Aiden had to jump to the floor or else he could be crushed.

Mikan teared up upon seeing her son happy, "Oh my God…" she kept filming.

"Best Christmas ever! Thank you thank you thank you!" Kenshin yells were muffed by Izumi's pajama pants.

"What about your mommy?" Izumi asked with a giant smile.

"Yeah Kenshin, it's from her as well!" Yuka supported.

"Ma!" he tackled Mikan into a tight hug, surprising her. "I love you ma! I love you all!" he kissed her cheeks.

Her phone was now dropped on the couch, but it was still recording, "Oh Kenshin, I love you too…" she whispered, trying not to sob. Mikan hugged him so tightly and this was a rare time where Kenshin didn't seem to mind her breathtaking hugs.

Mikan was proud for raising such a grateful child, and her parent seemed to share the same prideness.

"Ma we have to go home so I can play!" he told her urgently.

"Ah!" Yuka gasped, "No such thing young man, you'll have plenty of time to play on your video game thing; you are only leaving tomorrow morning! As for now, go clean yourself because I'm gonna go make a heavy Christmas breakfast _and _you must be ready for when your uncle gets here!"

"Uncle Kazumi is coming?" he tilted his head, "Is he bringing more presents?" he grinned.

"Kenshin Yukihira!" Mikan scolded with a chuckle.

"Yeah he is, if he isn't he'll get kicked out," Izumi mumbled.

"Izumi Yukihira!" Yuka scolded, this time more serious than her daughter.

* * *

**10:11AM**

"Hey dad, are they coming back tonight or tomorrow tomorrow?" Isamu asked sleepily while leaning on his dad's arm.

Natsume sighed deeply, "Tomorrow tomorrow." He replied distantly.

"That sucks,"

"I know…"

"Well I guess if I go to sleep early the night will go by faster, right?" the boy asked expectantly.

Natsume furrowed his brows, trying not to smile, "Huh-uh..." he paused a bit, carefully thinking over his next words, "So, what do you think of Mikan?"

"I like her."

"Hm?"

"I really like her… she's nice and uh—pretty, and I like her smile and her smell."

"Her… smell?" Natsume asked slowly.

"She smells like a mom," Isamu replied.

He chuckled, "She is a mom, Kenshin's mom."

"I know but… she smells like a good mom would smell. Like vanilla or…" he scrunched his nose thoughtfully.

"Strawberry?" Natsume helped, staring into the ceiling dreamily.

"Yeah! Exactly… strawberries and apples…" Isamu closed his eyes and snuggled closer to his father, waking up early for Christmas was hitting him now, "Don't let her go…" he whispered.

"I'll… I'll try kiddo… I'll try…" Natsume sighed.

* * *

**A/n: Christmas is wrapped! I really love reading your reviews, sorry if I don't reply to them anymore, I might start doing it again soon.**


	41. Devil Wears Gucci!

**A/n: It's been almost seven months since I posted this story, wow. It seems like it's been years for me… sheez. **

**Poll results:**

**Kenshin: 13 votes.  
Isamu: 11 votes.  
Other boy: 1 vote.**

**Kenshin is still on the lead!**

**Hotaru and Ruka are starting to make more appearances now! I also want to point one a mistake that I made while I re-read my story, Mikan is four years younger than Natsume, not three. He turned thirty last month (in the story) I just forgot to mention it :(**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**December 26****th****, 2014**

**2:23PM**

Hotaru Imai was an inpatient woman, but for Mikan her temper seemed to be submitted into a calm one, because she was already used to the brunette's clumsy or idiotic ways. They've been friends since Mikan was twelve and she thirteen, so Hotaru had a lot of years to get used to her.

But this was unacceptable. Like that lemon from Kenshin's cartoon screeches.

She glared as she pretended to check for her perfect trimmed clean nails, the dark purple polish was bright and spotless, just how she liked: perfect.

Perfection has always been a trait around her family, he father was an excellent and wholesome businessman, her mother was an intelligent and wanted lawyer, her brother was well-paid doctor and she, well, and she was running her father's business at the very young age of twenty-seven! Even her sister-in-law – now two months pregnant – was running a successful business as the right arm of a respected and famous "harem" of wealthy feminist women.

She expected perfection in her life, because she was used to it. Mikan changed everything, and Hotaru found herself getting used to it as well. She blamed her best friend for bringing the lazy side that Hotaru could well hide.

That's why she was pissed off; she woke up late at a working day. Yes, everyone was shocked when their boss – Miss Perfection – came to the office one hour late.

Hotaru Imai wasn't perfect, not at all.

Instead of arriving at seven and thirty sharp in the morning, she arrived almost at noon. Only because she had gone out with Anna and Nonoko to celebrate Christmas with other strangers she didn't care about. She remembers a party, alcohol, crab-brain and she recalls missing Mikan last night.

It wasn't that girl's fault that she was close to her family. Hotaru's parents were working on Christmas and her brother was too busy with his wife.

At least she had fun and got to relax. That's why her heavy drunkenness obligated her body to rest more than she was used to. No one dared to point out her tardiness when she waltzed in the floor with the devil on her eyes.

Her anger aggravated when she realized her not-needed-but-helpful P.A missing in action.

Where the hell was Mikan Yukihira?

Hotaru was informed that her friend would be back by now. Did Mikan think she had a day off? Hotaru wanted to laugh, with her mood and the annoying headache hammering her head loudly, Mikan was definitely in trouble.

* * *

Freshly arrived from the village where she was born and raised, Mikan didn't mean to pass out on her bed after arriving two hours ago, but when she and her son arrived, the first thing Kenshin did was lie on the couch and since then he only replied to Mikan with soft snores. When she noticed, he was sleeping heavily with Aiden resting between his legs.

She got herself busy unpacking everything before going to work, but first she needed to wake up Kenshin to bring him to work until she could find a babysitter, but it suddenly happened.

She just lied on her bed after unpacking everything.

She closed her eyes, just to rest them a little she promised herself.

When she woke up, someone was ringing her doorbell downstairs.

And when Mikan looked at the digital watch on her nightstand her soul left her body, she had slept two hours straight without even noticing.

Mikan panicked, she jolted from her bed to the living room so quickly that her head spun a little, she leaned on the couch for support and at the same time checked on Kenshin, he was still sleeping.

The doorbell rang again.

Aiden meowed and jumped over her shoulder to the kitchen floor to eat from his bowl, she glared at him, feeling used. Shaking her head she walked to the door and buzzed in whoever was downstairs, she suddenly pondered on the idea that I might be Natsume. Straightening herself, she finger-combed her hair and wiped off the invisible dust from her clothes. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes to seem more awake and checked her breath just in case.

When she heard steps coming closer to her door, she opened it with a huge smile, "Hello Na—"

Mikan was interrupted when a rolled newspaper hit her straight in nose, making her back away.

"Ow! What the—" she rubbed her nose and looked at the person, "… Hotaru!" she gasped, not noticing the deathly scowl on her friend's face.

"Get inside idiot, and make me some tea." Hotaru ordered dryly.

Mikan didn't even glance at her to ask why; she turned back and stumbled towards the kitchen. Hotaru walked in and closed the door behind her, her expression was calmer when she undressed her jacket and hanged in on one of the hooks nearby the door. She walked further inside the house and entered the living room, she was about to sit on the long couch with the three seats when she noticed the sleeping Kenshin.

"Why is he still sleeping?" she quirked loudly enough for the brunette to hear.

"U-Uh… I don't know, maybe he's coming down with something?" the brunette lied nervously as she prepared lemon tea.

Hotaru exhaled between her teeth, "You have the audacity to lie to me?"

"I'll never learn…" Mikan whined.

You can't simply lie to Hotaru Imai.

Mikan's whining humored Hotaru a bit, "No you won't," she decided to wake Kenshin up in the best way as her mood allowed, "Kenshin wake up," she said gently, before throwing one of the pillows at his face.

He jolted and rose into a sitting position, quickly looking everywhere for his attacker, "Wha-? Who?!" his amethyst eyes matched Hotaru's when they stared at each other, "Auntie?" he wasn't sure if he was really seeing Hotaru in front of him, "Is that you?" he asked unsure while rubbing his burning eyes.

"Yes Kenshin it's me," she started. "Why are you still sleeping, may I ask?"

"Merry Christmas…" he slurred with a huge sleepy smile.

"Christmas was yesterday you dummy," she sat next to him, trying to stop her lips from rising.

"T'was?" he tilted his head, "What happens next?"

"The awkward week when the decorations are put back in big warehouses for next year and when the people prepare for New Year," she explained shortly, "Which brings me to a question, do you want to bring a friend to my party?"

"Party?" he forced his eyes open, "Oh… yeah… party… uh…" he licked his lips and approached her, "Can I invite Mr. Hyuuga and Isamu?" he whispered.

She blinked.

He looked at her.

"Auntie Hotaru!" he finally seemed to realize that he hasn't seen her in days, he glomped her into a hug and Hotaru nervously hugged back, "You're here! I missed you!"

"Finally, you're as slow as your mother." She scolded lightly.

He giggled, already used to her taunts, "Sorry, did you throw a pillow at me?"

"No, you were dreaming when that happened." She said with a straight face.

He pouted, "You lie!"

"Good boy," she nodded proudly.

Hotaru cared so much about him that she didn't want him to be tricked so easily, he was already naïve like his mother and there were morons out there that knew how to manipulate and used nice people. Not that Kenshin didn't knew how to fight back, because the countless calls that Mikan got from his school saying how many fights he was involved in proved that. Kenshin knew how to judge strangers, but Hotaru seemed to be disappointed a little in him.

"Do you like the Hyuuga's?" she asked coldly.

He nodded without hesitation.

She shook her head, "I don't know Shin…" she said about the request that he made. Could she really invite that bastard and his junior to her New Year party?

"Please auntie… that would make ma and me happy! And Ran-chan too, Isamu's our friend!" it left a bittersweet taste on Kenshin's mouth when he admitted that but it was true, Isamu was a friend.

"Please…" he begged again, with a sweet voice, "Please with a cherry on top…"

Hotaru stared at him and opened her mouth to reply.

* * *

**Hyuuga Apartment**

**3:04PM**

"Natsume I feel like you've kept me here as your prisoner," Ruka chuckled as he loaded the washing machine with the last dirt plate.

"Nah, you're just imagining," Natsume quickly dismissed him.

"Yeah maybe you're right, maybe I just miss my own bed." Ruka shrugged, playing along.

"Maybe," Natsume mumbled, "But it's not like you have someone waiting there for you."

Ruka gasped and looked horrified at his friend, "Ouch! That's low and hurtful!"

Natsume rolled his eyes, "Just saying." He paused to check if Ruka was seriously hurt, when he saw his friend grin he continued, "When are you gonna find a girl?" he raised his brow, "Or… a guy?"

"I'm not gay," he quickly said.

"It's okay if your are—"

"I'm not gay Natsume, _merde_ you sound like my mother." He smiled distantly, "And… stop worrying please. You're just giving me this talk because you found a girl yourself, I bet if you hadn't you would start this—"

"You're wrong, nothing would change. Single or taken, I'd still have this conversation with you, you French loaf." Natsume punched his arm playfully, but with his voice and expression serious.

Ruka snorted, "You'll have better results by talking about this with Isamu, because you won't get anything from me."

"Why would I have this talk with my eight-year-old son?"

"Because he's his father's son and last night he took my phone with him to his bed, I still haven't seen it." Ruka chimed, "I don't know who this mademoiselle is but she definitely got Isamu, and I think he didn't even saw it coming."

"It's only an innocent crush," Natsume retorted defensively.

"Whatever you say Nattie," Ruka chuckled amusedly. "Now, when can I meet Md. Mikan? Doesn't she come back today?"

"She did…" Natsume responded while checking his phone, "But she must be tired."

"Invite her for dinner!" Ruka suggested.

"I can do that," Natsume started typing on his screen quickly. Then he rested his phone on his ear and waited.

Ruka's jaw dropped, he was really going to ask her right now?!

"Hey Mikan—" Natsume started, but his face frowned, "You—what are doing with her phone?" he glared ahead, "Pass it to her, no—pass the phone to Mikan—don't hang up! Imai!" he clenched his teeth and stared at his phone, "Damn that woman!"

"That was intense," Ruka whistled.

"That's the understatement of the year." Natsume commented dryly while dialing the number again, "Seriously Ruka, be careful with woman like her."

"Imai?" he asked, remembering hearing the name.

"Yeah, first woman I start to really care about and she ends up being best friends with the devil who wears Gucci."

"Isn't it Prada?"

"No, she prefers Gucci, trust me."

"Oh I do," Ruka chuckled

"Damn she's not picking up—why is Mikan so submissive?" he sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh la-la, she is? Shouldn't you be happy about that?"

"What's submissive?"

Both Ruka and Natsume yelled when Isamu's voice popped out of nowhere, but there he was, sitting on one of the stools and leaning his arms on the counter.

"Did you just sprout there?" Ruka gasped, holding onto his chest.

Natsume shook his head, "What did I tell you about sneaking around and eavesdropping?"

"Uh… you didn't because I never did that dad…" Isamu asked confusedly, "I was here all the time."

"You here?!" both adult asked at the same time urgently.

"Are you inviting Yukihira-san and Ken for dinner?" Isamu asked, changing the subject. It was really confusing him, "Can you ask Ran as well?" he added hopefully, "She's back home…"

"Speaking of that little girl, may I have my phone back, Romeo?" Ruka asked with a taunting smirk.

Isamu's cheek flushed when he grabbed Ruka's phone from his pocket, "Sorry," he handed the phone back and the blonde smiled gently.

"I don't know about Mikan and Kenshin, the witch is holding her phone hostage and she won't pick up," Natsume grumbled, finally replying, "And I actually don't have Asawara-san's phone number." He added.

"Oh… then let's go visit them!" Isamu said.

"I like that idea, let's do that!" Ruka supported excitedly.

"No, we're not driving to Mikan's house right now, _she's _there." Natsume shook his head.

"We're not driving, you are!" Ruka scoffed.

"Oy vey…" Natsume sighed, seeing his son already dressing his jacket, "Isamu wait—we can't just show up without saying anything. And the witch is there!"

"Then we'll kick her out, it's three against that hag!" Isamu counteracted.

Ruka raised a brow at Natsume, "Cute."

"Shut up," Natsume barked, "You," he pointed at Isamu, "Take off your jacket, we're not going anywhere." He stated.

"But daaaad!" Ruka and Isamu whined at the same time.

"To your room, both of you. I'll try to call her again." He ordered.

"Alright… tell me if she says yes. And don't forget to check on Ran! Her family came back early." Isamu made sure that his father was paying attention to his words, it was important that he remembered.

"I won't forget Isamu, go." Natsume smiled.

When Isamu left, Ruka flopped down on the couch, "Mark my words my friend, this mademoiselle had him by the hook."


	42. Gentle Ways!

**The action starts now ladies and gentleman. Can you feel the tension?**

**Warning: This chapter contains badly written LIME. I don't know if there'll be LEMON in future chapters but we'll see.**

* * *

_Kenshin slowly opened his eyes after a forced induced sleep. It took him time to adjust to the bright light above him. He had been unconscious for a long time since he felt a small needle pierce through his neck so the sudden light made him wince._

_He couldn't move his hands or his legs – he was tied up. _

_When he let out a scream, it came out muffled – his mouth was covered with a duct-tape. He looked around the room in agitation and fear, where was he? The room looked like a bedroom that would belong to a boy of his age – a bookshelf filled with comic books, a box full of cool toys, a single bed with Spider-Man sheets, a desk with a high-tech computer, and one HD TV plasma with a Ps3 connected to it. The bedroom looked amazing, but yet Kenshin only felt fear._

_He had no idea where he was. He wanted his mommy. He wanted his Auntie Hotaru. He wanted his Ran. He wanted Natsume and mostly – he wanted his brother._

* * *

**~5 DAYS BEFORE~**

**December 26****th****, 2014**

**Hyuuga Residence**

**6:45PM**

Kenshin jumped from his nap while sweating and looking around widely, the first thing he saw was a blanket over him and the dim light of Natsume's huge television above him. He felt a soft breathing next to him, Isamu was next to him. But his sleep had been stirred by Kenshin's sudden jump. Kenshin swallowed dryly and hugged his legs under the blanket covering the two boys.

Natsume, Mikan, Ruka and Hotaru were somewhere in another division. When Natsume was finally able to contact Mikan without Hotaru's interruption, the brunette had accepted to have dinner with them, with one condition – Hotaru would have to come as well.

All hell broke loose.

Everything was fine up when Mikan and Kenshin met Ruka Nogi. Mikan genuinely liked conversing with the blonde and Ruka felt adoration towards Kenshin, he was already calling him 'petit mignon', Kenshin of course didn't know that it meant 'little cutie' but Mikan knew and she approved of that nickname.

Hotaru however, was very polite but icy at the same time, proving that she wasn't allowing herself to be submissive just because she was in Hyuuga territory. She behaved her best of course, she was a lady. When she met Ruka, a twinkle in her eyes sparkled in hope of a new and hopefully rich partnership with his company – she hid her intentions well of course, giving him small talk but Natsume saw it through like a hawk.

Kenshin and Isamu eventually fell asleep after watching a marathon of Steven Universe. Of course that they had a very warm and adorable reunion, they were extremely awkward and gave each other a side-hug that meant to be the size of a bear one, but with the adults watching they didn't feel comfortable enough, so they felt weird about it and just decided to watch TV and talk about what did they get for Christmas.

Masako would drop Ran by at seven, she would have dinner with everyone and Ruka was excited to meet her – as so was Isamu, but to see her. From the photos, her hair had gotten longer since she started the cruise and he couldn't wait to see her.

Everything was fine until Kenshin had a terrible yet forgetful nightmare. He just knew that it had been so terrible that woke him up immediately.

He didn't cry though – he was scared that if his mom asked him what happened he would end up spilling about his feeling he has about the famous Boogey Man – Reo Mouri.

"Ken…?" Isamu croaked with a sleepy voice, he rubbed his eyes and rose into a sitting position next to the brunette, "You OK?"

Kenshin shook his head honestly.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Isamu pressed.

Kenshin nodded, feeling nauseous all of a sudden.

He felt a hand ruffle his hair, "T's alright, it's just a bad dream, it can't hurt ya." Isamu comforted gently. "Wanna talk about it?"

Kenshin had a moment to absorb Isamu's kindness and calm himself before he replied, "I can't remember it…" he mumbled, frustrated but also fearful, "But it was scary… I'm scared."

Isamu blinked in surprised when he felt him started to shake, "W-Want me to call your mum?"

Out of desperation, Kenshin shook his head too immediately and turned to his friend, "No! No one can know!"

Isamu was bewildered, "Ken… so many secrets…" he sighed. "I'm kinda worried. You should tell your mum."

The boy peered at him in a green complexion on his cheeks, "I don't feel so good…"

* * *

Mikan found amusing that Natsume had 'stolen' her from the kitchen into his bedroom without Hotaru or Ruka noticing. The two were conversing so deeply that a fire would go unnoticed. When Natsume closed the door behind him he sighed deeply before looking at her sheepishly.

"I hope you don't mind this little kidnapping."

She smiled, "I don't mind at all…"

They looked at each other, without being able to drop their smiles.

"I missed you. I haven't had the chance to say it with that wi—Imai around but…" he started.

She approached him, feeling confident, and looked up at his eyes, "I missed you too Natsume…" she whispered.

Natsume sighed at her, he was about to lean down for a kiss but she walked backwards and giggled. He smirked, so she was playing? He took a step forward and she took one back, it was on. He moved so fast that it caught Mikan by surprise, she didn't definitely see him coming, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, refraining her from running away again.

"Gotcha," he mused into her ear. Her hair smelled like strawberry, how he missed this scent…

She chuckled shyly, "Yeah… you got me Natsume…"

"Mikan, about those text messages…" he planted a soft kiss in her hair.

Mikan smiled at his bashful behavior, "Natsume?"

"Yeah?" he looked at her with sharp eyes.

Her arms slid upwards until they were behind his neck and she smiled up at him, "I'd like to kiss you," she murmured, feeling brave and making his eyes widen.

She watched as he didn't hesitate at all before leaning down and kiss her. She returned it gratefully, suddenly overwhelmed with how much she missed him. He pulled away before the kiss could deepen. Pouting, she grabbed the back of his head, running her fingers through his dark hair as she held his head still. His lips pressed up against hers tenderly, feeling how soft they were. The kiss deepened on its own and he was relieved that she was kissing him back with just as much fervor. Slowly, his mouth opened and he willingly slid his tongue past her lips for an invitation. Natsume heard her breath intake as he experimentally licked at her tongue. However, it wasn't long before she began swirling her tongue along with his.

It was overwhelming for both of them, their relationship was still based on patient kisses, flirty words and cuddles and Natsume was really trying not to scare her away, but after almost two months of a relationship, he'd want at least touch her more, take her to her limits and see where he could go without making her uncomfortable. She told him she hadn't had sex since Kenshin was born so he would treat her as much like a virgin. He would have to be gentle and Mikan would want to know her limits as well. Besides, they had a full house at the moment.

Natsume wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted for, but it had to come to an unfortunate end when they both parted to catch their breath. Their eyes were heavy lidded and they stared back at each other, processing the unfamiliar but pleasurable feelings the other gave the other.

"Mikan," Natsume whispered, licking his lips. "You are a vixen, you know that?" His eyes were saying many things to her, causing her brain to spin and her heart to flutter before he pulled her in for another kiss.

His arms wrapped around her petite body, holding her even closer to him. She was taken by surprise and her mouth opened in a gasp. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth again, curiously tasting her. She quickly regained focus and decided to shyly tease him back with her tongue, making him pull her nearer with a low growl.

This time when they pulled apart, it was only for a second as they backtracked to Natsume's bed and fell down upon it. They kissed for a few more minutes before Natsume broke the kiss to look down at her. His eyes were a little wide with the sight of her curls spread all over his bed: she looked like a perfect fit in it. He hesitate on continuing for her sake but she ran her hands up his back comfortingly, before winding her fingers into his hair with a reassuring smile. He couldn't help but lean down and kiss her again. Mikan concluded that it had to be the sweetest kiss she had ever experienced with him. But it soon returned to intensity as their tongues found each other once more.

Her hand found itself under his shirt and Natsume shivered into the kiss, her hands cold on his bare hot flesh. He couldn't think any other word except 'more'. He needed more of her and the way she was sending shudders down his spine by drawing shapeless patterns on his back was making him just about lose whatever control he had over his body or hormones.

Mikan wasn't sure where any of this was going to go but she surprised herself with not really caring. She was feeling really bold and brave at the moment.

Mikan's hips pressed against his absently and Natsume's heart jumped before beating erratically in his chest and ears. He kissed her with so much passion as his body contained, having the urge to touch her but not exactly knowing if he could. She was touching his back and making him feel so good that he wanted to return the favor, but she was lying on her back so he couldn't copy her. His thoughts apparently were being reflected into his kiss because she pulled away and furrowed her brows.

"Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly, her chest moving up and down rapidly between them. He looked down at her apprehensively.

"I want to touch you, but I don't know where… I mean, I'd know but I don't know if I should…" his own breathless voice trailed off uneasy. His ears turned red with shame.

Mikan blinked and simply took his hand and placed it nervously on her right breast. His eyes widened immensely and glued down to where his hand was. "I was being honest in that text Natsume. I want you to touch me," she pecked his lips and smiled cutely, "In every way…"

His eyes flashed at her with uncertainty, his finger itching to remove themselves. She gave him another small reassuring smile before he leaned down to kiss her softly. He swallowed before giving her small and perky breast a squeeze, it fit in his hand perfectly that he couldn't help to smile.

Natsume raised his eyes to her face and noticed that her eyes were a bit foggy. She trailed her finger tips up his back softly and smiled when he pressed into her absently from shuddering. His eyes found hers again as she pulled him down with her other hand at his head to kiss him.

Natsume kissed her back immediately, because that was what he had grown comfortable to do; they felt for each other's tongues instantly. Her hand on his back was pressing into him, pulling him closer as he squeezed her breast a little more, earning a quiet moan of pleasure from her into his mouth. He did it again, feeling a little more comfortable now that he knew she was feeling good, and was happy when she moaned again – it was music to his ears. She shifted underneath him, pressing her hips up into his anxiously, making the forgotten part of his body harden at the contact of her touching him through their clothes.

His mind was spinning as she tugged on the ends of his hair gently. She removed her hand from his back, much to his slight disappointment, and took his hand from her breast. He tried pulling away from the kiss to ask her if there was something wrong, but she held him with her other hand, refusing to let him break it. Meanwhile, she moved their locked hands to the bottom of her knee-length skirt that had been pushed up from his legs to her waist. He hadn't realized that until his fingers touched her cotton panties, making him flabbergasted. How could he have missed it?

Natsume was surprised by how she was acting, pleasantly surprised. Maybe it was because she missed being touched like this? Either way, she kept holding his hand firmly there as she broke the kiss. Their foreheads were pressed against each other and they were breathing heavily. She then guided his hand up her skirt, then let it go, giving him permission to wander. Mikan glanced down at his mouth as her hand returned to his back, he peered at her with an expression mixed with surprise and adoration, this was her way of showing that she trusted him. His blood flow was already heading south and it was making it hard for him to think rationally – and he now knew that Mikan was in the same state. Natsume slid his hand up her abdomen and was finally glad to feel just how soft her skin was. Heart pounding, his hand reached up further where his finger tips stopped at her bra. She looked shyly at him and leaned up to kiss his line of his jaw as a reassuring gesture. He inhaled and as his hand felt for the breast, under her bra. Her nipple protruded between his fingers. He moved his fingers across it, feeling it harden under his attentions. Mikan moaned, making Natsume's ego toss a proud smirk over his lips. She continued to kiss him down his jaw to his neck, towards his collarbone. He pinched at her nipple suddenly and she jumped, making him stop quickly with a worried expression.

He looked at her to ask if he had hurt her on accident, but she held him still, nipping at his earlobe. The action took Natsume in such surprise that he growled again, "Your hands feel so good on me, Natsume," she purred into his ear, making his heart jump and the room become much hotter and smaller for him. Who was this Mikan? Did she have another personality in the bedroom? Either way, Natsume was **horny** because of it and also very wary at the same time. He didn't want to take advantage of her with their state of mind. She was very vulnerable at the moment: he could easily have her if he could.

He placed his hand back on her breast, touching her nipple once more, but being extra gentle with it not cause her any discomfort. However, it was proving to be difficult to stay gentle with the fact that her mouth was caressing his neck in the most tantalizing way. She opened her mouth hotly onto his skin and sucked.

Oh – a hickey.

He let out a soft moan into her ear, causing her to shiver against him. It was the most amazing feeling Natsume had felt in years and it was really driving him insane.

He pulled away successfully this time, making her look up and almost breaking the spell when she showed a frown of confusion. "What's wrong?" she asked timidly, her eyebrows furrowing, her cheeks flushing, and her lips swelling. His eyes left her face to see that her skirt was almost pulled up to her breasts because of his arms and he felt like he couldn't breathe. Her red cotton panties were the only piece of clothing that lay between them and her most sensitive area, and that petrified him.

Natsume was trying to be patient and slow but he really wanted to know what was underneath – well, not that he didn't know what was underneath, just that he wanted to see that part of Mikan. "I want to see you," he blurted out with the devil in his eyes.

Mikan looked down at her body, feeling very exposed but with him look at her the way he was, she felt incredibly sexy for the first time since she gave birth to Kenshin. She sat up, peering up at him nervously as she reached behind her back and pulled the zipper of her blouse. He watched her and his eyes fell dramatically when the fabric of her blouse dropped to her waist. Her plain white bra covered her breasts that he had been touching and was teasing him with the sight of the milky skin that lay beneath it.

Mikan chewed at her bottom lip nervously, "Do you want to take my bra off?" she asked him, quietly.

Natsume's eyes snapped up to hers, noticing that she was embarrassed. "If you don't to, you don't have to…" he said, quickly becoming aware of his senses now that he realized what they were doing.

Mikan thought for a moment, before getting to her knees and letting the blouse fall to her legs. She then leaned over him, knowing that he was watching, and she kissed his neck hotly before lifting her lips to his ear and murmuring against it, "You do it."

Natsume stared straight ahead, his mind beginning to spin again. He gulped but nodded, before reaching behind her with steady hands to take the back of her bra between his fingers. He didn't struggle much to figure out the clasp as much as he wished he could, remembering when Isamu used to see random strangers leaving his bedroom in the morning left a bad taste on his mouth. But with Mikan's lips on his neck, the work became frustrating to say at least. She waited as patiently as she could, apparently thoroughly enjoying herself as she assaulted his neck – call it a semi-revenge for his hickey weeks ago. He dropped his hand on her hips after unclasping her bra, she pulled away from him to grab the cups and hold the fabric to her body.

Mikan's eyes were scared, but she wanted this. And she now knew that he wanted it too. She let the bra fall from her body, watching his eyes bore down at her exposed breasts intensely. She saw him freeze up as she threw her bra to the floor, before taking his hands and placing them onto her bare breasts. He glanced up at her and she took that moment to kiss him, letting his hands go to allow them to wander.

Their kiss deepened and her hands felt on his shoulders. His fingers squeezed her breasts, touching her nipples with his thumbs, making them harden. She moaned, sliding her hands down his chest to place them under his shirt. He shivered at her cold hands but continued to touch her, kiss her, taste her. She lifted his shirt suddenly, wanting to remove it and he let her, feeling that it was quite fair since she was topless.

He lay on top of her once more, falling to the bed with a deep kiss. Natsume's hands kept to her breasts, unable to stop feeling her now that he had begun. She moved her own hands up his bare chest, her fingers running over his small amount of chest hair. Natsume pulled away, glancing at her face before he dropped his head, pressing his lips to her neck. She pulled in for air and tilted her head, letting him have enough access to her skin. He opened his mouth on her neck and started sucking. She moaned into his ear and he absently groaned in return, his hips pressing into hers on their own as his fingers pulled at her nipples. She arched her back into him as he did this, making him kiss her neck fervently, pulling her skin into his mouth and gently nipping at it. He was in no way in control of his body now, acting through pure instinct.

Mikan inhaled, before letting out a small whimper when he pulled at her skin again with his teeth, she let him that she was enjoying everything that he was doing to her. He grounded down onto her again, pressing his now very hard erection into her core, causing her to bite her bottom lip harshly at the sensation in order to keep from crying out. She needed him.

_Knock, knock!_

They halted their movements, both of their eyes popping open at the sound of someone knocking on the door. The only sound for a moment was their heavy breathing and the silent curse that was Natsume's hissed.

The knocking got harsher.

Natsume groaned and pushed off her, grabbing his shirt at a quick speed. Mikan blushed darkly and pulled her blouse back on, not bothering with her bra. She reached back and zipped it up quickly, and she looked up in time to see that Natsume had been watching her do so.

_Knock, knock! _"Md. Mikan?" Ruka's voice called through the door.

Mikan looked at the door in confusion and Natsume followed suit.

"You can come in Ruka!" he called.

And so he did, and he was look worriedly at the brunette, "Md. Mikan, it's your son!"

She visibly paled, her flushed cheeks were gone. She stood up and walked towards Ruka with a serious expression, "What's wrong with him? Where's Kenshin?"

"With Md. Hotaru," Ruka sighed, "The petite mignon was feeling sick and ended up vomiting, Isamu called us." He finally informed her.

Mikan didn't even let him finish talking; she bolted out of the bedroom to find her son.

Ruka and Natsume shared a worried look, but when the blonde's eyes caught the attention of a surprising piece of underwear sitting nearby the bed. Natsume's eyes followed his gaze and the man closed his eyes to avoid looking at Ruka's smug expression.

"Natsume, did I interrupt something?"

Clenching his teeth, he glared half-heartedly at his friend, "As a matter of fact, yes, you did."

"You were doing the nasty with her?"

"There was nothing nasty about what we were doing." Natsume barked.

"Oh I bet—"

"Ruka shut the hell up! Now tell me about Kenshin, is he alright?" he cut him quickly by passing by him to follow Mikan, Ruka was right on his back.

"Maybe he saw what you were doing with his dear mama. Look what happened," the blonde chuckled.

"Last warning," Natsume growled.

* * *

**A/N: How was it? I was very nervous about posting this chapter. **

**I guess you know what will happen in New Year's Eve ^o^**


	43. Only a Nightmare!

**Important author note at the end!**

* * *

"Sorry for throwing up on your couch Natsume…" Kenshin mumbled timidly, "And your carpet…" he paused. "… and your bathroom floor,"

Mikan smiled weakly as she hugged her pale son closer, Kenshin swore he was getting better but her protective instincts were kicking in.

"I already told you, I don't care about that at all. I'm more worried about you kiddo, you alright?" Natsume asked gently, he was standing in front of the two brunettes with his sleeve's up, behind him, Ruka could be seen humming as he wiped the small portion left from Kenshin's vomit. The carpet was gone, so the tiled floor was being cleaned again for a long time.

Isamu perked his eyes at his friend's shirt, "Uh… if you want, I can lend you a shirt Ken."

Everyone seemed to notice the vomit stain on Kenshin's shirt.

"Ugh…" the boy groaned embarrassedly.

"That's really nice of you Isamu-kun," Mikan piped happily, "Shin-chan, baby, take of your shirt off alright?" she looked at Natsume, "May I borrow a plastic bag?"

"You can use my laundry room…" Natsume suggested quickly.

"Oh thank you!"

Meanwhile Kenshin struggled a little to take his shirt off without letting his skin touch the disgusting stain, when successful; Mikan grabbed it at the same time as Isamu grabbed his hand, making the brunette shriek in surprise.

"Wow. You're loud," Isamu deadpanned annoyed.

"Why are you holding my hand?!" the brunette squealed.

"Because you look like you're about to faint," Isamu shrugged, already dragging the boy to his room.

"I can walk by myself!" Kenshin kept yelling.

The adults changed amused expressions between them.

"It's like they're a newly made couple," Hotaru deadpanned, making herself present.

"…"

"Well everything cleaned now! I'll just go uh—make some hot chocolate for the children! The little mademoiselle must be arriving pretty soon oui?" Ruka chuckled nervously, trying to erase what Hotaru just implied from the air.

"You were born to be a housewife, Nogi." Hotaru said.

* * *

"Oh man, I can't believe that happened…" Isamu mumbled as he opened his shirts drawer. "Can't find something warm…"

"Gimme a t-shirt," Kenshin pouted.

"No way, here have my Hulk hoodie." Isamu grinned and tossed the green hoodie at him, Kenshin was preparing to catch him when the object flying toward him made him recall something about his nightmare; he leaned on Isamu's bed to not collapse on his knees.

"Ken?!" Isamu hurriedly stood next to him with a worried expression.

"Ha… haha… it's alright… it's only a dream, right?" Kenshin mumbled to himself with a weak smile, "A scary dream…" he chuckled, starting to tremble, "Isamu…?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a bad feeling…"

"You mean… like when you knew that something was wrong with Ran when she had that fever?"

Kenshin nodded. "I think something bad is going to happen… but…"

"But…?"

"I think it's gonna happen to you." Kenshin looked at him.

"M-Me?" Isamu helped the brunette sit on his bed, "What'da mean?"

"I think I was you in my nightmare."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh… I dunno! Ever heard of point of view?!" Kenshin exploded, confused with his own words, "I just have a bad feeling and I'm worried!"

"About… me?" Isamu asked eagerly.

Kenshin's cheeks flushed, he started swinging his legs and staring at his lap. "Of course, pea-brain… you're my friend."

Isamu smiled and sniffed his nose nonchalantly, "Thanks but, anyways, it was a dream. Maybe you have fever dream."

"But I don't have fever…" Kenshin pouted.

The dark-haired boy shrugged, "Let's just not think about it much, now please dress up or else Ran will see you like that!" he snickered, pointing at the exposed torso of the brunette.

"Ah!" Kenshin squeaked, putting the hoodie quickly. When his head re-appeared his hair was all messy and everywhere, it made Isamu laugh because of how puffy it looked.

"What're ya laughing at?" the brunette asked annoyed.

"Nothing, let's go back." Isamu dismissed with a smile. A happy smile.

* * *

"Is it really a good idea for you to drink that after throwing up sweetie?" Mikan sighed.

"Leave the kid to learn with his own mistakes," Hotaru replied while sipping on her black coffee mug, she's been hiding in the kitchen since the boys started cleaning the living room, as much as Hotaru loved Kenshin, there was no way she was touching or cleaning someone's vomit.

"Yeah ma, lemme learn with my mistakes!" Kenshin chuckled, taking a good gulp of his hot chocolate.

Isamu rolled his eyes.

Mikan sighed, "Alright then…"

Ruka did promise everyone hot chocolate, and with the weather outside, it was perfect to drink a warm beverage. Of course that Hotaru and Natsume preferred coffee as their precious bitter taste carved for. Ruka made his latte selfishly with a lot of vanilla, he was lucky that Natsume kept a lot of condiments.

Now they were just waiting for Ran to arrive.

It was quiet for a while, Natsume was at his office room sending some e-mails, it was like summer homework for him, he'd be back to work after New Year, he was supposed be working right now but being the boss makes it easier to prolong your vacation for an extra week. It wasn't like he was slacking off anyways, he worked through home – he was still the CEO of the Hyuuga CORP. after all.

Ruka chuckled softly and ruffled Kenshin's still messy hair, "You got us worried there because you seemed alright before taking a nap."

"Why didn't you tell me Shin-chan?" Mikan asked meekly.

Kenshin frowned, "I _was _feeling alright ma, I just… woke up bad."

"You woke up bad? Speak properly." Hotaru scolded.

"I mean, when I woke up my stomach hurt," Kenshin stuttered embarrassedly.

Hotaru sipped on her coffee approvingly.

"Maybe you're coming down with something…" Mikan wondered worriedly, "I'll have to watch out for a fever."

"You better not get sick and miss my party brat." Hotaru said, although she showed a slight concern in her eyes.

"No! I won't I promise!" Kenshin told her desperately, with his nightmare, he wanted to be anywhere else but alone. Suddenly his eyes lit, "Ah! You should tell Mr. Hyuuga and Isamu that they're invited as well!" he said cheerfully.

Mikan's eyebrows disappeared into her bangs as she looked surprised at her friend, "They… are?"

"Party? What party?" Ruka asked while looking at everyone.

"Kenshin, you are not supposed to use that mouth of yours to decay a conversation." Hotaru calmly snapped, before giving him her icy smile.

He gulped and hid behind Isamu, who was nervously avoiding the witch's stare.

"But it's t-true… you said they could come." Kenshin bravely retorted.

Hotaru sighed in a reluctant defeat, "Yes, I may have made the mistake for falling for your doe eyes, but I made a promise. Brat number two," she stared at Isamu, who gulped at her, "Do you want to come to my party as Kenshin's date?" she gave him a sweet and mocking smile.

"As Ken's WHAT?!" the boy spluttered.

"AUNTIE!" Kenshin squealed with a scarlet complexion.

"Hotaru!" Mikan snorted, covering her mouth to hold her laughter.

"Oh mon Dieu…" Ruka blinked while he looked at the woman amazed.

"It's only proper, if Hyuuga is coming he's coming as your date Mikan, so if Kenshin wants to invite the junior, it's only normal and logical that he becomes Kenshin's date as well. Since your son refuses to consider Ran as his date, I mean." Hotaru explained while giving Mikan a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"HE'S NOT COMING AS MY DATE!" Kenshin yelled.

"Who's coming as your date?" Natsume asked with a tired expression while walking in the scene.

"Junior," Hotaru replied warmly, delighted to see him for the first time since they met.

"Junior?" he raised a brow and looked at Isamu, already used that Isamu was referred as that by her, "Wait—what?"

Kenshin stepped in, "I was saying that auntie told me you and Isamu could come to her New Year party and then she said that you could only come as ma's date," Natsume saw no trouble until now, he was actually happy, "But then she said Isamu could only come if he was MY date!" now his happiness flattered a bit, he was slightly amused though.

"So?" he decided that, for the first time, he would joke along with the witch woman.

Everyone, except Hotaru, flinched in shock at his word. The raven haired woman smiled, also surprised but ready to have some fun.

"S-So?" Isamu parroted, "Dad?"

"Are you saying my son isn't dating material?" Natsume raised a brow at Kenshin. "Are you saying that he's not good enough to be a date for one night? It's the only way Kenshin, do you want to leave Isamu outside the party?" he glanced at Mikan to see if it was alright to "bully" Kenshin for a bit, she rolled her eyes but smiled approvingly nevertheless, she knew he wouldn't go too far.

"D-DAD?"

"…" Kenshin was too perplexed to even open his mouth, his cheeks were burning so much that he thought they were on fire.

"Natsume, you traumatized the boy." Ruka clicked his tongue twice.

"Good job," Hotaru praised dryly.

"Oh, Shin-chan, he's only kidding!" Mikan chuckled, not being able to hold it after seeing her son's reaction. It was a bit mean but Kenshin would forgive them.

"W-Wha…?" Kenshin looked at his mom and Natsume, then he blew a raspberry and gave them a forced cocky smile, "Heh, I knew that!" he crossed his arms smugly. "I was o-only playing along, hah! You should've seen yer face Isamu." He smirked at his friend.

"You're a dirty liar Ken, you were about to faint!" Isamu barked at him, still affected by his dad's joke.

"As if! I never faint, only girls faint!" Kenshin snapped without thinking.

"You're a dummy-head!"

"And you have cooties!"

Isamu groaned so loudly, "You always say that!"

"Because it's true," Kenshin stuck his tongue at him.

Isamu's eye twisted.

"Alright, let's just calm down kids." Natsume interjected, not wanting things to get violent.

"Part-pooper," Hotaru mumbled, having been recording the whole thing until now.

"You two are so cute~ I bet you'll be friends forever." Ruka smiled.

Isamu and Kenshin huffed at each other before looking away with a scowl.

"As if!" _I hope so. _Isamu really thought.

"No way!" _I'd like that. _Kenshin really wanted to say.

* * *

**A/N: Hello! So, here's the reason for the delay: I'm sinning. Sinning with a new RPG game called 'Undertale'. Please, don't send help because I love drowning in the sin that is this game. If you don't know what it is, kindly check it out, but no pressure! ^^**

**The reason why this author note is important is because I'm thinking on writing special chapters with an Undertale crossover. Kinda like Alice in Wonderland but Kenshin in Undertale. I already have everything planned; I just need you guys approval! :D**

**Thank you for reading and as always, stay tuned for the next chapter.**

**PS: Hotaru may secretly ship Isamu and Kenshin in the future; you can blame certain readers here to put that idea on my mind :v**


End file.
